Why do you bring alcohol?

[phinz]

They still have alcohol for sale duty free, but don't have a large duty free area anymore. And no, you cannot drink it onboard. You will pick it up on the morning of disembarking.

 

[MouseinMelbourne]

I enjoy a glass of wine while relaxing quietly on my verandah. For the most part, with the exception of a cheese plate, I do not drink wine while I eat. So having it at dinner isn’t enjoyable. Bringing it on board puts my favorite kind at my fingertips right when I want it.

 

[darnheather]

I really like mimosas. Two bottles of champagne is plenty for me on a 7 night cruise and orange juice is free. Next cruise though I'm going to 3 tastings and one open bar. That along with my sail away drink is more than I usually drink in a year so I should be good.

 

[GoBlue99]

If you can't finish a wine bottle on the day you open it, what's the best way to get to stay good for an extra day or so?
At home I have one of those mini vacuum systems but not packing that on the cruise.

 

[lindsay0526]

I was just talking to my sister about ordering a wine package to split at dinner. I figured all of the adults could enjoy a glass of wine each night with dinner, as we aren't huge drinkers when we have the littles in tow. At first glance it looks like a good deal- 5 bottles of wine, presumably 1 bottle/night, at $152 ($180 the automatic gratuity). So, that breaks down to $90/couple, $45/person, $9/glass. I was all sold on this until I saw the wine selection- one of the bottles was a Beringer White Zinfandel, which retails for about $6/bottle. A BOTTLE. After googling the first 8 or so bottles, they all retailed for $15 or less, so I said forget about it.

I'll take my two bottles of wine on, which will be a much better wine, and ones that I know that I'll enjoy. I'll swing by a bar on the way to my room in the afternoons and have a fresh wine glass to drink my wine as I get ready for dinner. I'll save my money for 1-2 frozen cocktails during the week.

 

[DCLCrazy64622]

You can bring it on at each port. Actually you can save quite a bit of money.

If you bring it on at each port, don’t they have to store it for you until the end of the trip?

 

[MichelleCanada]

If you bring it on at each port, don’t they have to store it for you until the end of the trip?

At each port you can bring two bottles of wine or 6 beers back on with you. Hard liquor they will store until the end of the trip.

We did the Western Caribbean this past summer on the Fantasy. Every port my DH would pick up a few local beers just before we got on the ship. He would have them on our balcony in the evening. In Jamaica he bought Appleton rum and checked it when we got on the ship. And then picked up as we were leaving the ship (keep the receipt they give you - it makes it much faster).

 

[DCLCrazy64622]

At each port you can bring two bottles of wine or 6 beers back on with you. Hard liquor they will store until the end of the trip.

We did the Western Caribbean this past summer on the Fantasy. Every port my DH would pick up a few local beers just before we got on the ship. He would have them on our balcony in the evening. In Jamaica he bought Appleton rum and checked it when we got on the ship. And then picked up as we were leaving the ship (keep the receipt they give you - it makes it much faster).

I had no idea! I’m so glad I asked. We have the EBTA coming up in May and that has six ports!

 

[Sun_soakin]

1) I can pack much better bottles of wine than those on ship
2) it’s nice to enjoy in your stateroom

 

[DisneYE]

I'll take my two bottles of wine on, which will be a much better wine, and ones that I know that I'll enjoy. I'll swing by a bar on the way to my room in the afternoons and have a fresh wine glass to drink my wine as I get ready for dinner. I'll save my money for 1-2 frozen cocktails during the week.

This. all. the. time.
The wine package is horrible - its insulting they charge so much for cheap 7/11 type wine.
Always bring your own if you like to drink with dinner.
Life's too short to drink cheap wine.

 

[MillauFr]

This. all. the. time.
The wine package is horrible - its insulting they charge so much for cheap 7/11 type wine.
Always bring your own if you like to drink with dinner.
Life's too short to drink cheap wine.

Agreed. The selection of Oregon Pinot Noir on board is terrible. I think I counted one last time I was on the ship.

 

[starvenger]

This. all. the. time.
The wine package is horrible - its insulting they charge so much for cheap 7/11 type wine.
Always bring your own if you like to drink with dinner.
Life's too short to drink cheap wine.

Life's too short to drink BAD cheap wine. If you can find good wine at a cheap price (and yes, it does exist), go for it.

As for the wine package/wine prices, I find that on cruise lines the prices trend towards the higher end of what a restaurant markup would be (roughly 2.5-3x the retail price). This is, generally speaking, not ideal but acceptable. But we're talking about DCL, where you can bring 2 bottles of wine aboard at any port. If I were to take DCL again I see zero reason why I wouldn't take advantage of this perk.

 

[lindsay0526]

Life's too short to drink BAD cheap wine. If you can find good wine at a cheap price (and yes, it does exist), go for it.

As for the wine package/wine prices, I find that on cruise lines the prices trend towards the higher end of what a restaurant markup would be (roughly 2.5-3x the retail price). This is, generally speaking, not ideal but acceptable. But we're talking about DCL, where you can bring 2 bottles of wine aboard at any port. If I were to take DCL again I see zero reason why I wouldn't take advantage of this perk.

That Beringer White Zin RETAILS for $6, and you know Disney isn't buying it for that... Maybe $3-$4 and then they are charging $30 (per Disney Cruise Line Blog) for that bottle?!?! That's almost a 1000% upcharge and then you have to pay the 18% auto gratuity... Hard Pass.

 

[smmco]

This. all. the. time.
The wine package is horrible - its insulting they charge so much for cheap 7/11 type wine.
Always bring your own if you like to drink with dinner.
Life's too short to drink cheap wine.

It certainly cannot be found in a 7/11. I think that's a bit of an reach. Most of the bottles are in the 8-15 dollar range at a grocery store. Don't you pay a ridiculous corkage fee when you bring your own. We've gotten the wine package a few times and didn't really have a problem with it. It averages to about 30.00 dollars a bottle which is about normal for a restaurant. It's certainly cheaper then buying it by the glass. I have brought my own wine, but I like to drink outside the stateroom.

 

[starvenger]

That Beringer White Zin RETAILS for $6, and you know Disney isn't buying it for that... Maybe $3-$4 and then they are charging $30 (per Disney Cruise Line Blog) for that bottle?!?! That's almost a 1000% upcharge and then you have to pay the 18% auto gratuity... Hard Pass.

White Zinfandel feels like it's a huge moneymaker for any place that serves it. Not my thing, but people seem to love it. And guaranteed there are people that are paying by the glass (where the markup is even higher) for that on board. Probably $8 a glass with about 5 glasses per bottle... Cha-ching.

Your numbers feel about right btw. You might even be overvaluing the retail price. But remember that any place that gets wine isn't paying the retail value, so when I talk about markup I'm just talking about the perceived markup of us, the consumer. 5x-6x the retail price is still... yeah. Bring your own white zinfandel, people.

 

[lindsay0526]

It certainly cannot be found in a 7/11. I think that's a bit of an reach. Most of the bottles are in the 8-15 dollar range at a grocery store. Don't you pay a ridiculous corkage fee when you bring your own. We've gotten the wine package a few times and didn't really have a problem with it. It averages to about 30.00 dollars a bottle which is about normal for a restaurant. It's certainly cheaper then buying it by the glass. I have brought my own wine, but I like to drink outside the stateroom.

I swing by the bar and grab a clean wine glass, fill it up and carry it to dinner. This is not uncommon as people stop by a bar to grab a drink before dinner and walk to dinner with it in their hand. No one cares where you got the wine.

 

[TestingH2O]

White Zinfandel feels like it's a huge moneymaker for any place that serves it. Not my thing, but people seem to love it.

Just to clarify, are we talking about just White Zin or all Rose wines. While I cannot stomach glorified wine coolers, I love a nice Rose. Last summer in Cannes, I got totally hooked on the French bottles.

Assuming we are just talking about the Beringer stuff, I agree, the markup is absurd.

 

[starvenger]

Just to clarify, are we talking about just White Zin or all Rose wines. While I cannot stomach glorified wine coolers, I love a nice Rose. Last summer in Cannes, I got totally hooked on the French bottles.

Assuming we are just talking about the Beringer stuff, I agree, the markup is absurd.

Well, I'm sure stuff like Gallo counts as well. Let's just call it "mass market cheap Californian" and the like.

 

[DisneYE]

It certainly cannot be found in a 7/11. I think that's a bit of an reach. Most of the bottles are in the 8-15 dollar range at a grocery store. Don't you pay a ridiculous corkage fee when you bring your own. We've gotten the wine package a few times and didn't really have a problem with it. It averages to about 30.00 dollars a bottle which is about normal for a restaurant. It's certainly cheaper then buying it by the glass. I have brought my own wine, but I like to drink outside the stateroom.

To each their own. life's in the Western Hemisphere is beautiful like that.
Most of the cheaper <$30 a bottle wines at DCL (whether a package, bottle or glass) are just flavored vinegar.
corkage fee is $20 a bottle if you byo. not ridiculous if you bring a good wine, imo.
I'm all for ppl drinking even $3 a bottle/bag wine (yes, it exists), but for me life's too short to do that.

 

[DisneYE]

That Beringer White Zin RETAILS for $6, and you know Disney isn't buying it for that... Maybe $3-$4 and then they are charging $30 (per Disney Cruise Line Blog) for that bottle?!?! That's almost a 1000% upcharge and then you have to pay the 18% auto gratuity... Hard Pass.

Wow... yeah insane.
I admit I'm guilty of buying cheap wine at the cruise but that's when I either run out of the 2 bottles of wine allowed, or I didn't want to carry them bc of the hassle.
always byow if/when possible. the $20 corkage fee is totally worth it. It's $0 corkage fee if you drink it in your room.