Disney Wine Costs vs Carry-On Costs Spreadsheet

[TDC Calvin]

I've been researching the costs of Disney Wines vs. bringing them on-board. After pondering it for some time, I finally decided to sit down and develop a "full" analysis.

The Disney Wine Spreadsheet compares the costs of Disney wines on-board the ship vs. purchasing them at a nearby wine shop in Cocoa Beach -- ABC Fine Wines and Spirits. The Disney information is based upon the prices I found at the DCL Tribute Page and Barb's Castaway Club Page.

Embedded in the spreadsheet are comments explaining how I arrived at various values.

Summary

If you purchase individual bottles of wine, purchasing the wine and bringing it on-board can save you money over purchasing the same wine from Disney.

Single Bottle Savings

Breaking it down into groups, we have:

6 wines where Disney provides a better value, 11 wines where the cost savings is less than $5, 9 wines where the cost savings is less than $10 and 8 wines where the cost savings was more than $10. 20 wines were not compared because I was not able to find prices on ABC's site.

The best cost savings are for Dom Perignon ($37.21 savings), Perrier Jouet Flower Bottle ($35.61), Veramont Primus ($18.46), Far Niente Chardonnay ($16.90), Veuve Clicquot Brut ($16.85), Silverado Cab Sav ($15.06), Caymus Conundrum ($13.27) and Louis Jadot Pouilly-Fuisse ($13.11).

BTW, if you like Gallo of Sonoma, Korbel Brut, Martini & Rosi Asti Spumante, Mondavi Fume Blanc, Mondavi Reserve Chardonnay or Rosemont Shiraz, do not bring your wine on-board for purposes of dining. You will pay more with the corkage fee added in.

Wine Packages

Purchasing the Classic Wine Package from Disney will save you more money than bringing the wine on-board.

On the other hand, the Premium Wine Package is not a cost savings vs bringing the wine on-board. You "lose" anywhere from $11.83 to $64.26 by purchasing the Premium Wine Package. Of course, bringing the wine on-board does not allow the flexibility of deciding what wine to pair when you order.

And if you are bringing a well-loved wine on-board that Disney doesn't offer, there is no comparison.

Storage of Carry-On Wines

I called DCL and they told me that you must take carry-on wine back to your cabin for storage. If you like, you can bring the opened bottle back on subsequent nights for consumption. In these cases, Disney will charge only one corkage fee for that bottle.

This is in contrast to Disney-purchased wines. These can be stored for you in Disney's refrigerators if you so desire. And, of course, you may take Disney-purchased wine back with you to your cabin for usage as you see fit.

Oenophile Emptor

The spreadsheet isn't complete (couldn't find prices for some) and misses wines to be found at Palo's.

Of course, both ABC and Disney will be changing the prices of their wines, so this spreadsheet should be viewed with this in mind.

Personal Thoughts

We will probably purchase some carry-on wines for our stateroom, but purchase wines for dinner from Disney. Most of the cost savings are small enough for the wines I'm likely to purchase that I feel lugging the wine around isn't worth the effort.

As a note, I fully support Disney in charging a corkage fee. This recovers the lost profit from the sale of wine from their cellars. I would much prefer a corkage fee than not allowing guests to bring their own wine on board.

Enjoy!

[Note: I've edited this message to clarify certain thoughts after reading follow-on comments below. Before editing this post, I post my own follow-up. Therefore questions raised by posters below may not make sense and should be read with this in mind.]

 

[lillygator]

I thought if you bought the wine package you could take an unfinished bottle back to your room??

 

[ThreeCircles]

You can.

 

[TDC Calvin]

To clarify my earlier posting. If you purchase Disney wine, you may take the wine back with you or have them store it. If you bring carry-on wine, you must take the wine back with you. No Disney provided storage is available.

 

[lillygator]

thanks - I was planning on testing it out on our 3 nighter!!

By the way Jason and Travis - your picture is awesome!! You guys look great together!!

 

[two-foxes]

Clavin-

What a killer job on this!! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! It helps us wine lovers out so much!

 

[AprilN]

Great job! While most of the wines we chose to bring on board were special and not available from DCL, this will make the wine decisions for our next cruise a lot easier.

I have one slight correction to your spreadsheet, though: in the "Premium Wine Package Bottle Delta" column, it looks like you used 0.015 instead of 0.15 to calculate the tip. With this correction, ABC is actually the better value over the Premium Wine package, with a savings of $32.61 over the 7 bottles.

Otherwise, a fabulous job! Thanks so much for sharing it with us!

 

[TDC Calvin]

Yeah, a tip of 1.5% is probably not a good thing.

I've corrected the spreadsheet to use a tip of 15% and ensured that the classic wine package used the proper tip.

To recap then:

Classic Wine Package: Cost savings to Disney.
Premium Wine Package: Cost savings to carry onboard.

Thanks AprilN!

BTW, I want everyone to feel free to let me know of updates (missed Disney Wines and incorrect costs) to this spreadsheet. I probably won't go "shopping" for the best value if a different store is available. I used ABC Wine because (1) I found it on the DCL Tribute site and (2) They had prices online.

As noted above, I will now update the "main" posting.

 

[brendapap]

Are you allowed to bring wine on the ship. If so, how and do they charge you a fee to drink it in your cabin at night? I can open myself.

 

[AprilN]

You are definitely welcome to bring wine (and any other alcoholic beverage, I think) onto the DCL ships. Most people bring it on the ship in their carry-ons rather than their checked luggage, as it might be seen as a bit rude to make the porters move around all the extra weight of the bottles. DCL doesn't have an official opinion, nor will they ask about it when you check in or board.

There's no charge to open or drink your wine in your cabin (or in other public areas of the ship, I believe), and I've heard your stateroom attendant will bring you wine glasses and a corkscrew if you ask. DCL will charge you a corkage fee if you bring a bottle into the dining rooms, which is $15 per bottle with 15% autogratuity (total $17.25).

 

[dharma517]

That is a lot of exercising you have done....LARGE PAT ON THE BACK TO YOU!!! You are going to live longer because of it. Wish I was back on the exercise wagon...I fell off hard after I had two kids 17 mths apart and haven't been able to find my way back on! lol OK...on to the wine question.

I do love wine...but not really expensive wine SO...lets say I like Beringers Founders Estate Cab....should I bring it or buy it at Disney? Is that even an option? I don't have to have that specific wine but that is an example of what I like. I will bring a bottle or two for the room since I don't have to pay corkage if you drink it in the room. How about this....what if I pour myself a big ole glass in my room and carry it to dinner? lol Will I be charged for that? Would that be really cheesy...especially at Palo or would no one notice?
Jenn

 

[AprilN]

It's definitely an option to bring your own wine onboard. Whether you would want to... is up to you. You would probably save a few bucks per bottle, but I'm guessing that you would find wines to enjoy on board. However, if you're planning to drink a lot of wine in your cabin, I would bring wine on board - I'm not sure where you would buy wine onboard for that situation.

what if I pour myself a big ole glass in my room and carry it to dinner? lol Will I be charged for that? Would that be really cheesy...especially at Palo or would no one notice?

Will you be charged? I doubt it. (how would they know you didn't just buy a glass at the bar?) Is it cheesy? Yeah, kinda... Would no one notice? If you do it once, probably not. Every night, people might begin to wonder. I don't think Palo would make a difference.

 

[Jules1]

How does the wine package work? Can you order the same bottle of wine every evening, or do they make you rotate the wines you choose? For instance, we love Chateauneuf du Pape, so could we order a bottle of that every night?

In the premium pkg on the spreadsheet there are some wines listed that I can't find on the premium pkg list (dated 11-03) on Barb's website. Is the spreadsheet more current information?

We will be carrying wine onboard, for only for stateroom use. We were planning on the premium wine pkg for dinners.

Thanks for the help!

 

[Hans Solo]

Thank You TDC Calvin

What a great contribution to the DIS Cruise Boards. Something new to study!!!

 

[MrsPete]

Ya know, I'm glad I don't like wine. It makes life easier and cheaper!

 

[Jules1]

Bump - I'm hoping someone will help me with the wine package questions!

Thanks!

 

[ohMom]

can't help you with wine package

dharma -- but just wanted to say, with my tail between my legs, that I took my own wine to dinner once or twice -- poured in my room in and just walked in with it. my DH was beside himself no one else noticed at all. I didn't do that at Palo though, just ordered a glass of Disney wine there.

 

[TDC Calvin]

Originally posted by Jules1
How does the wine package work? Can you order the same bottle of wine every evening, or do they make you rotate the wines you choose? For instance, we love Chateauneuf du Pape, so could we order a bottle of that every night?

In the premium pkg on the spreadsheet there are some wines listed that I can't find on the premium pkg list (dated 11-03) on Barb's website. Is the spreadsheet more current information?

Snip

Hi Jules1-

I've never purchased the package so I can't really comment on it. Perhaps you ought to start a new thread with that as the topic line. Your question is rather hidden inside this thread. I remember reading that they used to require rotation, but no longer do so. Of course, that is just from memory. Perhaps the best solution is to call DCL and ask.

What wines were on the premium package spreadsheet that you didn't find on Barb's site? I used the 7-day wine package when comparing. I probably ought to use both the 3/4-day and 7-day wine package when comparing.

 

[ThreeCircles]

Originally posted by Jules1
How does the wine package work? Can you order the same bottle of wine every evening, or do they make you rotate the wines you choose? For instance, we love Chateauneuf du Pape, so could we order a bottle of that every night?

In the premium pkg on the spreadsheet there are some wines listed that I can't find on the premium pkg list (dated 11-03) on Barb's website. Is the spreadsheet more current information?

We will be carrying wine onboard, for only for stateroom use. We were planning on the premium wine pkg for dinners.

Thanks for the help!

The wine packages are usually purchased on the first night of the cruise although you can purchase them at any time. When you purchase the package, you are basically buying seven bottles of wine. These seven bottles can be any combination of wines on the list and in any number up to seven.

For example, if you and a companion are having different meals and you would like a white wine and a red wine on the same evening, you can. If you end up finishing one bottle and would like to open another during the same meal, you can. If you want to order seven bottles of the same wine, you can. The packages are pretty flexible and you're really only limited by the quantity of 7.

 

[Jules1]

Thanks for the info!