how to enjoy wine for free at dinner?

[luckyfamilyof3]

I know you can bring your own alcohol onboard. I prefer to drink my wine with my dinner. Does anyone have any suggestions of how to enjoy your own wine in the restaurants? Is it possible to bring your own glass of wine in with you? Thanks.

 

[calmpets]

You can bring a glass of wine to dinner with you for free. If you bring the bottle they charge a corking fee of $15 plus gratuity.

 

[DVCconvert]

well...it maynot be completely 'for free'.
If you bring a bottle into the dinning rooms, don't be shocked to see a $15 (I believe) corkage fee....you may well escape this charge if it's only a glass.

 

[MassDisLovers]

You WILL NOT be charged anything if you walk in to dinner with a glass. While that practice seems to be a bit controversial with some folks on these boards, it is done and it is not a problem. I purposely watched last week to see how many people arrived at dinner glass-in-hand, (after reading recent pro and con posts on this board) and there were many each night. Now - those glasses may have come from a ship's bar or from a stateroom, I certainly don't know, but people can and do arrive at dinner with their drinks.

 

[Mrsjvb]

you can walk into the dining room with glass in hand, we did it a few times but ours were purchased prior to entering at a bar while waiting for our seating.

if you bring in your own glass that your poured, you will only get that one glass for free. if you bring the bottle in with you, you CAN be charged the corking fee even if the bottle is already open when you sit down. that happened to us once ( but the next night when we finish the bottle there was no additional charge) now maybe it was because we let our servers pour that we were charged, I dunno. the other time we did it we had poured already by the time they came around.

we are (Monterey County) wine snobs and I found all the choices to be excellent and was never disappointed in anything. of course we had also done the wine tasting so got to sample a few up front so we knew ahead of time what we were getting.

 

[kcashner]

You will be charged the "corking fee" the first time you bring a bottle of wine into the dining room that was not purchased on the ship. You should not be charged for the same bottle more than once. It makes no difference whether they actually open it or not, pour it or not or anything else. It is really a charge for bringing in an outside wine.

You can bring in a glass of wine at no charge.

 

[sparty7798]

Hi,
So if you do bring a bottle in and pay the corking fee and you don't finish it, will they keep it for the next night?

 

[karibritt01]

Hi,
So if you do bring a bottle in and pay the corking fee and you don't finish it, will they keep it for the next night?

Yes. You will get it back the next night at dinner.

 

[~Piglet~]

Out of interest, how much does a bottle of 'house' wine cost on board?

 

[pugmom626]

I did 3 different things on 3 different cruises:
1) Buy the wine package and purchase mixed drinks and wines by the glass at the bars.
2) Carry-on wine (purchased in Key West) for the dining room and stateroom, plus buy drinks at the bars.
3) Buy the wine package and mixed drinks/wine at the bars. Have carry-on wine (purchased in Key West) in the stateroom to enjoy on the veranda.
Out of the afformentioned 3 options, I felt most comfortable with #3. Saved a little money by not buying as many drinks at the bar, but also didn't feel that little pang of uncomfortableness that happens when you bring your own wine into the dining rooms. When people do this, they are taking advantage of a loophole. It's not a classy thing to do and if too many people start doing it, DCL will be inclined to close the loophole.

 

[disney 2010]

I don't understand why there would be controversy? DCL allows you to bring drinks on board and allows you to move around the ship with your beverages regardless of their place of origin....
Now if you are running back and forth to your stateroom refilling during your meal or carrying a "flask" around that may just be tacky

 

[kcashner]

I'm sorry...I don't understand why it is "tacky" to bring a glass into the dining room. If I have purchased something from a bar before dinner and have not finished it, I take it into the dining room. Ditto if I have a glass from the Captain's reception.

I'm not violating any DCL policy when I bring a glass into the dining room. DCL allows me to bring alcohol on board, unlike most lines. They do not specify that I can't bring it into the dining room.

Sneaking about or trying to avoid a rule is a totally different matter, and I wouldn't run back and forth to my cabin for "refills." However, I'm not violating a rule and no matter what they say, no one can tell whether I've purchased the glass of wine at a bar or poured it in my room.

 

[Mtopher4]

My book says the corking fee is now $18

 

[Orlando Momma]

I am bringing wine with me for two dinners...quick question, can we carry wine with us (the bottle) to Palo's? And if we hand carry a glass of wine to dinner, where do you get the glasses? I don't feel bad carrying a bottle in, because two mixed drinks for us will be the same price as the $15-18 dollar corking fee. Gotta save every dollar we can!!

 

[madancer]

This is very informative reading this. How would it apply to a bottle of beer? No fee for that I assume?

 

[pugmom626]

The dining rooms are dining rooms, not BYOBs. The corking fees are in place to discourage the masses from schlepping their own bottles of wine into the dining rooms. Obviosly this does not apply to carrying in a partially consumed drink that was purchased at the bar. Now, in addition to encouraging others that it is "perfectly Ok" to BYOB, there have also been comments and suggestions regarding how to avoid the corking fee. The sneaky, cheap-out tactics are what's going to cause a change in policy. Does DCL really have to put it in writing that "Yes, you may bring alcoholic beverages onboard; however, outside beverages will not be permitted in the dining rooms." ?!?!?

 

[disney 2010]

To clarify as I made the "tacky" comment I carried my "drink of the day glass" to dinner every night with my "cabin made" cocktail inside ( We had our drink of the day in the sun by the pool) I don't understand why this would create controversy
As for glasses for wine. Your stateroom host(ess) will bring you glasses. I have also read of people buying large plastic wine glasses so they can bring in a "big" glass of wine and not look "tacky" running back to the room in the middle of dinner for a refill
As for beer.... I guess you can also carry this from place to place. Personally if I was walking into the dining room I would be more comfortable if i had it in a glass/mug.
We drank a pretty even amount of BYOB and DCL beverages on our trip and I doubt dcl really cared which I drank where. If they know I brought it on I'm sure they knew I would drink it

 

[Baseball-Mom]

My husband and I both ordered just one glass,of two different kinds of a wine in Palo. They were suggested to us by our server. They were good, to just ok. We are not wine connisours by any means. We were very suprised that one glass was $15.00 and the other was $18 We could have gotten a decent white zinfindale or martini and Rossi Asti for less than that. That was one time I wish we had our own wine with us and came in with our own glass.

 

[Orlando Momma]

The dining rooms are dining rooms, not BYOBs. The corking fees are in place to discourage the masses from schlepping their own bottles of wine into the dining rooms. Obviosly this does not apply to carrying in a partially consumed drink that was purchased at the bar. Now, in addition to encouraging others that it is "perfectly Ok" to BYOB, there have also been comments and suggestions regarding how to avoid the corking fee. The sneaky, cheap-out tactics are what's going to cause a change in policy. Does DCL really have to put it in writing that "Yes, you may bring alcoholic beverages onboard; however, outside beverages will not be permitted in the dining rooms." ?!?!?

If DCL didn't want you to bring wine to dinner, they would not allow alcohol onboard. Since I am paying five grand for a cruise, I feel have zero guilt about bringing a bottle of wine to dinner. I am also a great tipper, so I think it is safe to assume that the waitstaff does not mind either.

If I saw someone bring a Big Gulp Cup of Boone's Farm or Mad Dog 20/20 to dinner, I wouldn't blink an eye. Who am I to judge? They are probably fun people to hang with!!

I don't think anyone on the Disney cruises is "cheap". If they were cheap, they would be vacationing on a more affordable cruise line.

 

[pugmom626]

Orlando Momma:
No, I wouldn't say that you "hit a nerve" and I'm not singling anyone out either. Apparently this is another one of those topics (like "Can I sneak my kids into the adult areas if I pretend that the sign is off to the side?" and "Can we get away with dressing like slobs for dinner if we have have seen others do so?") that will bring out all sorts of strong differences of opinion. I think people know what is appropriate and what is not and some are just looking for permission to bend the rules or guidelines.