Beer/Wine ?? to bring or not to bring??

[NC State Tigger]

Traveling in December with family, all adults except DGD. DS and DSil are beer drinkers, DH likes a glass of wine before or with dinner and DD and I enjoy an occasional mixed drink or glass of wine. 7 night Eastern.

I see posts about folks bringing adult beverages with them rather than purchasing from Disney. I know from past experience that the wine of choice for DH is about 3 times the $$$ purchasing it on the ship, but bringing it and then paying a $20 fee to have it with dinner makes me wonder if I want to bother with bringing it. The wine packages seem very pricey to me.

Now the boys and their beer is something I just can't decide what to suggest to them. What's the deal with beer on the ship? Do folks bring beer? Cans or glass bottles? 2 or 3 beers a day X 7 days X 2 "drinkers" They don't have beer everyday at home, but on "vacation" it wouldn't surprise me.

It is my understanding that the the coolers that Disney once permitted can no longer be brought on as carry on.

Suggestions please.

 

[morainechef]

Traveling in December with family, all adults except DGD. DS and DSil are beer drinkers, DH likes a glass of wine before or with dinner and DD and I enjoy an occasional mixed drink or glass of wine. 7 night Eastern.

I see posts about folks bringing adult beverages with them rather than purchasing from Disney. I know from past experience that the wine of choice for DH is about 3 times the $$$ purchasing it on the ship, but bringing it and then paying a $20 fee to have it with dinner makes me wonder if I want to bother with bringing it. The wine packages seem very pricey to me.

Now the boys and their beer is something I just can't decide what to suggest to them. What's the deal with beer on the ship? Do folks bring beer? Cans or glass bottles? 2 or 3 beers a day X 7 days X 2 "drinkers" They don't have beer everyday at home, but on "vacation" it wouldn't surprise me.

It is my understanding that the the coolers that Disney once permitted can no longer be brought on as carry on.

Suggestions please.

We brought our own beer and wine. Although I found the 7 night wine package fairly reasonable. We brought four bottles in one carry on with swim suits and bottled water. We filled another carry on with canned beer. They have a deal on board for beer steins, it is $14 for the mug which you can keep at the end and it is $6 dollars to fill. When you empty it it just leave it with the bartender and he gives you a mug card so you can get a clean one again later. Some days I kept mug and filled it with my own beer for the day. I got ice delivered daily. A six pack and ice fit nicely in one of the washroom sinks.

 

[morainechef]

We brought our own beer and wine. Although I found the 7 night wine package fairly reasonable. We brought four bottles in one carry on with swim suits and bottled water. We filled another carry on with canned beer. They have a deal on board for beer steins, it is $14 for the mug which you can keep at the end and it is $6 dollars to fill. When you empty it it just leave it with the bartender and he gives you a mug card so you can get a clean one again later. Some days I kept mug and filled it with my own beer for the day. I got ice delivered daily. A six pack and ice fit nicely in one of the washroom sinks.

Also see my recent post " just back from Wonder Mexican Riviera". Hope this helps.

 

[Melissa S]

We always bring our own alcohol because we are able to bring what we like and the drinks are much more expensive on board. Especially beer and wine, the markup is crazy! I will buy cocktails on board since there are multiple ingredients and mixers involved. The bartenders will give you anything you need (glasses, bottle openers, corkscrew, etc.) We tend to drink a little more on vacation so bring extra and I also bring all the receipts. That way if we have left over I can show that it wasn't purchased duty free. We like to sit on the veranda and have a drink while DD is sleeping, or have a drink before dinner with cheese and fruit from room service.

Regarding no coolers, we just bring the original cardboard packaging for the beer and then put it in the fridge once we get in the room. I have always put it in a soft tote bag (since you carry it on, not check it in) that way it folds up and you can put it in your luggage (or have it for souviners) rather than lugging something empty back with you at the end of the vacation. Since you are travelling with a large party you should be able to have someone with free hands to carry in the beer.

 

[sambycat]

my opinion is that lugging it all on the ship, worrying about things breaking in one’s luggage and THEN having to go back to the cabin for a refill whenever or just flat out wanting something different then what i brought is totally not worth it at all! we do the wine package, usually bring a bottle from that back to the room and try different cocktails as we like. on the classic ships, it *might* work better but on the newer ships especially, with so many bars and areas, part of the vacation is having something different when we want. it’s more expensive then carting our own, yes, but i figure it’s the cost of doing business and not really so much more $$ then drinks at any restaurant or club.

 

[2CME911]

As you can see NC a range of opinions on this topic. I can't tell from your post if you'll be flying or driving, it makes a big difference in terms of what is doable and what is more of a hassle. If flying, you have to pack the liquids carefully and place into your checked baggage, BUT you'll have to retrieve those bags at MCO and carry them on with you. DCL will not allow you to push those bags through to your stateroom directly. If arriving by car, much easier to deal with all that, just have one appropriately sized carry on per person with all the loot...see DCL website for size requirements.

I'm not a scientist, but I kind of look at the issue scientifically...if I'm going to be carrying on alcohol per the DCL policy, I'm going to make it worth my while in terms of alcohol content. Beer just doesn't have enough alcoholic density in my opinion to justify the large volume and weight that must be dealt with. DW and I buy the DCL beer mug and just pay as we go. A favorite wine or vodka...totally different story. We bring two or three bottles of wine and one bottle of something else...usually not rum since you can buy that at your first port. Each bottle is wrapped tightly with foam or bubble wrap, taped and put into large ziplock bags and placed into one carry-on size suitcase which is pulled off the carousel at MCO and carried on. Just don't put the DCL luggage tag on
anything you want to get yourself at baggage claim.

Good luck and have a great time!

BTW...GO DUKE! (PA '98)

 

[2CME911]

NC State Tigger I was re-reading your post and I think you are underestimating the amount of beer the boys might consume:
Boys + Cruise + Beer > 2 or 3 beers per day for sure!

 

[biggdawg67]

Traveling in December with family, all adults except DGD. DS and DSil are beer drinkers, DH likes a glass of wine before or with dinner and DD and I enjoy an occasional mixed drink or glass of wine. 7 night Eastern.

I see posts about folks bringing adult beverages with them rather than purchasing from Disney. I know from past experience that the wine of choice for DH is about 3 times the $$$ purchasing it on the ship, but bringing it and then paying a $20 fee to have it with dinner makes me wonder if I want to bother with bringing it. The wine packages seem very pricey to me.

Now the boys and their beer is something I just can't decide what to suggest to them. What's the deal with beer on the ship? Do folks bring beer? Cans or glass bottles? 2 or 3 beers a day X 7 days X 2 "drinkers" They don't have beer everyday at home, but on "vacation" it wouldn't surprise me.

It is my understanding that the the coolers that Disney once permitted can no longer be brought on as carry on.

Suggestions please.

I would recommend bring your canned beer (any thing but glass bottles for beer that is) with you. on one of our cruises we were on our table mates told us that they bought a cases of beer and it cost them $135.00. no deals for case price on board normal ship price per can plus tip per can....if you have an extra rolling suit case that can be used as a carry on load it up with what you all will be drinking....it can save you lots of money.....

 

[kathi]

I would not bring beer onboard unless there was something really special that I wanted (favorite micro-brew or gluten-free beer). I would not haul beer onboard if I could buy something I liked onboard. Beer is just so bulky and I wouldn't want to deal with it.

What we bring onboard:

Lots of champagne. We like champagne. We drink mimosas for breakfast and lunch and have pre-dinner drinks in our room with a cheese plate. So for us, it is economical. We will probably bring 4 bottles for a 7-night cruise.

We will bring a few bottles of wine. This is because we like what we like. Disney has wine available that is not horribly expensive (you can get a drinkable cab for $25/$30 that would probably cost $12 in a store). I will bring a few $30 bottles on board. These are consumed during pre-dinner social hour in our room.

I enjoy single malt scotch and have favorite brands, so I will bring a bottle onboard. My husband loves Rumchata, so he brings a bottle of that. If there are any speciality liquors that you enjoy, that would also be something I would carry on. I would not bring anything that requires complicated mixers, it's just more work than it's worth, IMO.

Mixed drinks we buy on the ship and we get a bottle of wine with dinner in the dining room (We usually travel with 4 or 5 adults in our party). All liquor that we bring on board is only consumed in our cabins. If we are up on deck, we purchase the drinks from the bars or restaurants.

Honestly, for us, it's as much about convenience as saving money. We like to have drinks in our cabin and on our balcony and it's easier if we already have them. We still drop a lot of money on drinks and food in the speciality restaurants and bars - and we are OK with that. It's part of our vacation budget.

 

[KingRichard]

Simple math!

1 case of beer. $20. On board about $120?

1 bottle scotch $39. On board $200 or more?

You can carry a beverage with you to dinner without a corking fee.

You can enjoy on deck in a plastic cup.

You can relax on your Veranda. PRICELESS!

I take canned beer and wrap glass(wine, champagne, scotch and rum) in our towels and place in a backpack.

 

[wiigirl]

NC State Tigger I was re-reading your post and I think you are underestimating the amount of beer the boys might consume:
Boys + Cruise + Beer > 2 or 3 beers per day for sure!

2 or 3 beers per day?? I can do that easy and I am a girl!

 

[Lorraine]

We tend to do some and some. Take a couple of bottles of wine to drink in the room, maybe take a glass from an open bottle to dinner - no corkage that way - and then buy a bottle of wine in restaurants - if you dont finish it they will seal it and save it for the following evening. I would suggest you could do the same with beer. Also we always buy a couple of cocktails a day - I have read about people taking their own blender though!!

I think that Disney has the right idea with its policy for taking alcohol on board - we save some money by taking our own but are quite happy to buy some on board too - there is a good range of prices too for wine by the bottle.

Lorraine

 

[lorenni]

I think the savings vary drastically depending on what you're used to spending, how much you normally drink, and whether you are already planning on non-DCL transportation to the port.

We're traveling with a small child and so our priority is to make our travel as easy as possible. For us that means checking everything we can, hopping on the DCL bus at MCO and saying hi to our bags later that day in our room. Collecting our bags, getting a rental, bringing the car seat to use with the rental/car service - all to stop at the store? Nope - not worth it. And I'm not willing to risk beer/wine/etc exploding in a checked suitcase and ruining the first few days of the trip.

Also, the prices on board aren't much different than what we're used to paying at bars. We may have a drink with dinner or at the pool but even without the tiny person we're not big drinkers so its just not worth crafting our travel plans around booze.

 

[pillow]

We will bring a few bottles of wine. This is because we like what we like. Disney has wine available that is not horribly expensive (you can get a drinkable cab for $25/$30 that would probably cost $12 in a store). I will bring a few $30 bottles on board. These are consumed during pre-dinner social hour in our room.

How do you open the bottle? Bring your own corkscrew? Or do you borrow from a bartender?

Jodie

 

[MAJPLO]

How do you open the bottle? Bring your own corkscrew? Or do you borrow from a bartender?

Jodie

You can bring your own or you can ask your stateroom host for one which you will keep in your room for the duration of the cruise. Just don't forget to leave it behind when you pack up.

 

[bumbershoot]

I'm not a scientist, but I kind of look at the issue scientifically...if I'm going to be carrying on alcohol per the DCL policy, I'm going to make it worth my while in terms of alcohol content. Beer just doesn't have enough alcoholic density in my opinion to justify the large volume and weight that must be dealt with.

That's one way to look at it! For me, it'll be about *enjoyment*. I don't enjoy liquor or wine enough to justify bringing it on (except for this one wine that I want to share with my aunt, but it can't be shipped to her so I'll bring it to her instead, and we'll enjoy it together), but BEER, oh yes, beer. If I can find a beer that I'm enjoying at the time of the cruise, I'll bring it on board.


OP, you might have noticed that a previous person mentioned that you can bring a glass of wine to dinner and not be charged. That's what the Passporter guide says, too. I personally probably wouldn't do it; I plan to enjoy the adult beverages I bring on board in my room, but I've read of many people who do bring their glass to dinner. They say you avoid the corkage fee that way.

 

[Silly Little Pixie]

We have in the past brought on beer, but in our last several cruises we just got the mug. I like the Shock Top and the Longboard, DH prefers the Stella or what is that, 687 on the Dream? I am not sure that we "get our money's worth" but it is pretty convenient. I buy mixed drinks such as Konk Koolers onboard or at Castaway Cay! Unless you really prefer beers that are not available on board, I think the mug is a better deal or the "bucket of beer" you can get poolside or on Castaway.

Wine is another story, however. If we are traveling with other family members we will get the wine package to share at dinner, and just bring a few bottles for a pre-dinner drink on the verandah. If we aren't with others, we bring a bottle per day (not each! DH prefers red and I prefer whites), have a drink before dinner, bring one to dinner, and will at times have a late night glass. This allows me to have some of what I like and some of what he likes. We keep the unfinished bottles in the room cooler to finish the next day. We always fly in the day before, and make a stop at a liquor store. We wrap the bottles in bubble wrap we brought with us, and carry them on in a rolling duffle with some towels. Then we have an empty bag for souvenirs!

 

[RedxPanda]

I'm not a scientist, but I kind of look at the issue scientifically...if I'm going to be carrying on alcohol per the DCL policy, I'm going to make it worth my while in terms of alcohol content. Beer just doesn't have enough alcoholic density in my opinion to justify the large volume and weight that must be dealt with.

You aren't drinking the right beers! Their are plenty out there that contain 8%+ alcohol content and taste very good. Though, I do understand that 1 bottle of liquor will take up a lot less room!

OP:
We didn't bring anything on our first DCL cruise and we regretted that. It was only 4 days so it wasn't that bad. We did cave and buy a drink of the day, once or twice.

DCL doesn't serve the type of beer we normally enjoy. Will we drink cheap lagers? Yes. Are they are favorite? Heck no. So, we don't want to pay premium price for something that is just mediocre to us. We like a lot of different beers ranging from micro-brew, craft, and imports. I like a lot of Belgian ales. We will stock up on a selection of our favorites and bring those on board.

The mug is tempting, but I'd rather have something I love the taste of.

 

[SC Minnie]

How do you open the bottle? Bring your own corkscrew? Or do you borrow from a bartender?

Jodie

Your stateroom host will bring you a corkscrew. They will also bring you glasses. You can take a glass of wine into the dining rooms when you go to dinner.

We've taken our own alcohol on board without issue. We just sailed in Sept and took a soft sided cooler with cans of beer. We rolled is on as a carry on when we boarded the ship. No problems. We also took wine and never had a problem with corkscrew or glasses being brought to the room. This allowed us to have a glass of wine while getting ready as well as take a glass to dinner.

 

[sissy_ib]

We actually spend quite a bit of time in our cabin just relaxing. That is something we rarely do at home. We sit on the balcony, turn the stateroom tv to the navigation channel and enjoy the wine and beer we brought on-board. For us it is worth it to bring a few bottles of wine and the beer my husband likes.

ETA:we bring our own corkscrew with no issue. Our last cruise we even brought a package of plastic wine glasses so we would not need to get any from room service.
Also we just packed a rolling suitcase each. We drove for both of our cruises so it was no issue for us. I had the wine, my husband packed the beer.