avoiding corkage fee

[CurtisB]

It's by the bottle. I believe they will hold it for you which is part of what you are paying the corkage fee for.

 

[over50visits]

It is trivial to avoid the corkage fee…just don't bring your own wine to the MDR (in a bottle or a glass). Thank Disney for their liberal (unique?) personal alcohol policy, and respect their policies.

 

[crisi]

When those of us say "its a lot of work to bring it" - remember it has to go in your carryon. And if you board the ship before your room is ready - you'll be lugging that carryon around - and if you bring a bottle of wine per night, even just a four night cruise that is a heavy bag. Add in the camera, iPad, book you are currently reading, cruise documents, your wallet, and all the other necessities - and that is a lot to lug. I've heard of people using rolling luggage for that purpose - but our experience has been that the dining spaces for lunch when you board aren't conducive to having a lot of luggage - you are better off bringing a big purse for Mom and a messenger bag for Dad and if it doesn't fit in those two bags, it gets put in the regular luggage.

We like to board as soon as possible - which means we need to do lunch and a little swimming with our carryons before we can dump our stuff in our stateroom - half a case of wine just ain't making the cut for logistics reasons. Maybe a bottle of bourbon - that will fit in my travel purse (which is fairly large, just not multiple bottles of wine large).

 

[TDC Nala]

I was on a 12 night in Europe, bought 3 bottles of wine at the first port in France and had them at dinner for the rest of the cruise. I just brought them in and paid the corkage fee. Server didn't charge me for the third bottle. Don't know if he forgot or if he just left it off.

Even so, it was a lot less expensive than the wine package and I could have 2 glasses if I wanted to.

 

[KLK622]

Overall the wine prices (by the glass and bottle) were very reasonable-less than a comparable bottle at restaurants at home. We would get a bottle and then enjoyed it over the next two nights...your server will bring it to the next dinning room for you (or you can have room service bring it to your room for you).

On our first cruise we carried wine on and ended up buying it in the dinning room anyway because they had such a nice selection (we didn't do the package), so we had unopened wine at the end of the cruise.

We have carried wine from the CL to the dinning room if we had not finished our glass and nobody has said anything to us, so I assume if you carry it from your room they wouldn't say anything either.

 

[yaddakal]

How
Much does a bottle cost at dinner?

 

[meggielove]

I have a question about the corkage fee. Do you pay this fee per night or by the bottle? So if I take a bottle of wine to the MDR and don't finish it do I have to pay the corkage fee again the next night? Also will they keep my bottle to follow me or do I have to bring it back with me?

I'm curious about this too. I am the only one in my group who drinks wine and would need to "share" a bottle over a few nights.

 

[justmestace]

Not sure how recent these are....it does say copyright 2014....scroll through the drink menus:

http://cruisewithgambee.com/disney-cruise-drinks/

 

[carpenta]

How
Much does a bottle cost at dinner?

.....about $30.00 - $40.00 bucks for mid level...

 

[JohnDS]

Not sure how recent these are....it does say copyright 2014....scroll through the drink menus:

http://cruisewithgambee.com/disney-cruise-drinks/

At those prices, you could buy identical wines, bring them aboard, pay the corking fee, and still save money.

 

[k3chantal]

At those prices, you could buy identical wines, bring them aboard, pay the corking fee, and still save money.

Which is why we do......

 

[Gigi22]

At those prices, you could buy identical wines, bring them aboard, pay the corking fee, and still save money.

. That's more or less my plan, bring aboard some good bottles and pay the corkage fee for them. Not going to bother purchasing the same wines featured in either package.

 

[carpenta]

At those prices, you could buy identical wines, bring them aboard, pay the corking fee, and still save money.

WE sailed twice on the Magic in the Med. and it was wonderful having the option to purchase local wines at each port and enjoying them at dinner. Wine was so inexpensive in Europe that you did save a lot of money even with the corkage fee. It really added so much to the trip being able to have some local flavors both in wines and cheeses etc....Hope DCl keeps the carry-on rules intact.

 

[KLK622]

At those prices, you could buy identical wines, bring them aboard, pay the corking fee, and still save money.

Yeah, but that is a lot of work to save about $100 over the course of the cruise, especially those who fly in ($100 is just an estimate, assuming you could save $15 on a mid price bottle and you drank one every night of a 7 night cruise). Also, the wine selection at the liquor and grocery store near port is really crappy-you are going to get a much better wine selection on board in terms of quality for price.

I am not saying people shouldn't do it, but there is a reason many people wouldn't do that to save a relatively small amount of money in comparison to what you are spending on a cruise.

I should add that I am only commenting about this because I was soooo worried that the wine prices were going to be double what they would be at a restaurant at home (we are big wine drinkers), that we booked more expensive private transit just so we could do a liquor store stop and it wasn't worth it at all. The liquor store didn't have a selection we were happy with and the wine wasn't properly stored so we ended up mostly buying on board and it worked fine for us. Our second cruise we just bought on board and it wasn't a big deal at all and our overall savings were pretty low.

 

[JohnDS]

Which is why we do......

Lol, I wasn't defending the corking fee, I think it's stupid to pay for the privilege to drink my own wine. I was pointing out how ridiculously overpriced the wine onboard is. I'll skip it altogether if those are my choices.

 

[MillauFr]

Lol, I wasn't defending the corking fee, I think it's stupid to pay for the privilege to drink my own wine. I was pointing out how ridiculously overpriced the wine onboard is. I'll skip it altogether if those are my choices.

Yes the wine prices are a ripoff. I think the soda at the parks takes the cake though. $3 for a soda that costs Disney 5 cents???? That is a complete joke.

 

[Cousin Orville]

Wine prices are generally 2x retail in restaurants. IMO, <1.5x is a decent price, >2.5x a rip off. It's the price you pay to enjoy good wine with a good meal. Certainly not a cheap habit. If you didn't mind carrying wine on board you can certainly save some money.

My 2 main gripes with buying wine on board are 1) the list really is a bit limited IMO and 2) the pace of the main restaurants is too rushed. Sometimes the wine doesn't come until after the apps which is annoying.

 

[Dug720]

Yes the wine prices are a ripoff. I think the soda at the parks takes the cake though. $3 for a soda that costs Disney 5 cents???? That is a complete joke.

Why are you buying sodas from the bar? Get them from the open station. No charge.

 

[Cousin Orville]

Yes the wine prices are a ripoff. I think the soda at the parks takes the cake though. $3 for a soda that costs Disney 5 cents???? That is a complete joke.

Soda is actually free for Disney per their agreement with Coke.

 

[MillauFr]

Why are you buying sodas from the bar? Get them from the open station. No charge.

What there is free soda on the ships? I never knew. No I was posting that at the parks (Disneyland) charging $3 for a soda is a ripoff.