BYOB at dinner

[DisneyDadInFL]

I'm sorry to ask this question because I am sure it has been addressed before but I could not find anything on it. I have read you are allowed to bring bottles of alcohol onto the Disney boat but how about bringing a bottle of wine to dinner? Is it allowed? Corking fee? Just curious......thank you!

 

[ppiew]

Yes it is allowed but corkage is $15 per bottle. We did this on our March 29 cruise. Even with the corkage we had a really nice wine with dinner at less $$$$ than ordering off menu (if they had what we wanted). Annoying, yes, but still cheaper.

 

[Firefighter Mickey]

Don't forget the 15% gratuity - so that fee comes to $17.25.

We found on our cruise in March that DCL had modified the wine selection for the packages that they offered, and personally I think it was a much better selection than before. There was more of a selection of California wines available which I think US customers are more likely to be familiar with.

Unless you are bringing a special/expensive bottle of wine to dinner, I think the less expensive wine package becomes a reasonable bargain when you add in the cost of the bottle you brought, plus the corkage fee.

If you like a cocktail before dinner/with your appetiser, purchase one of the drink specialties in the plastic collectible DCL glass on your first day and mix your drink in your room - you can easily carry the DCL glass into the dining room with you (just don't forget to take it with you when you leave, I lost 2 glasses by forgetting).

 

[rmbreset]

Firefighter Mickey is right , unless you are bringing a special/expensive bottle of wine to dinner, the less expensive wine package becomes a reasonable bargain . I'm doing both this time, ordering from the package for dinner and then for the special/formal dinners i'll bring my own vintage ports for desert and pay the fee.

 

[Popovich]

Sorry to ask such a silly question, but what is the corkage fee?

I don't know whether we will bring our own wine to dinner or maybe just on a special night to have a really nice bottle. Is there a web site to view the wines on the wine list before the cruise?

Thanks for any input!!

 

[krahema]

What is the "Wine Package"? Does anyone have any details - cost, quantity, quality, etc.

Thanks a bunch!

 

[Firefighter Mickey]

A corkage fee is the price you pay to DCL for them to pull the cork on your bottle of wine. Basically it's an equalilzer - while DCL will let you bring your own drinks on board, they also make money by selling you drinks - so this is how they make their money - basically they penalize you for bringing your own.

Corkage fees are not uncommon in eating establishments that also let you BYOB (where laws allow), but as these are not an option in the US, many cruisers people haven't encountered the term. I know Australia, being an enlighted country as regards things like this, also allows BYOB, but I don't know about any other countries.

There are 2 different wine packages available - I'll have to look thru our stuff to see if we still have any info. There's the standard package and the premium package - but I'll not bother to quote prices, since I don't have the info on hand.

The wine list can and does change; as I said, I thought the latest list was better as it offered more varieties from vinyards in the US that I was at least familiar with. There's nothing wrong with a good French or German wine, it's just that I don't know enough about the wines from those countries to always make a good decision for the meal (although, this is an area where your assitant server can frequently help out).

As far as quantity goes, the packages basically let you purchase one bottle per day for each day of your cruise. If you purchase the standard package, you can upgrade individual bottles to the premium package - kindof a 2 standard for 1 premium (I don't know how they do cash upgrades, we just happened to end up with 2 bottles on the last night and upgraded to a single premium based on the recommendation of our assistant server, and were very pleased with the suggestion). If you don't finish a bottle one night, the assistant server will save it for you until your next night.

 

[DVC4US]

Actually FireFighter Mickey many restaurants in the US will let you BYOB and they also charge a corkage fee. We do this sometimes depending on what kind of wine we want for the evening.

If you are a wine connoisseur like we are, do not go by any of the wine lists you see on the websites. We were not impress by the wines they had listed on the website so we decided to bring our own bottles. After dinner the first evening we found that they have a very good wine selection and most of the wines were not to overpriced. One thing we did find that surprised us was the cognac. My DH likes to drink the Louis XIII cognac, which is expensive!!! At California Grill it was $125 a glass. We ordered a glass to split on the first night and found out that on the ship it was $65 a glass. Almost half the price. BTW, the whole bottle (which he purchased) was $950. (Yes, he has expensive taste. It's a good thing he can afford it.)

Anyway, next time we have decided that we might bring a bottle or two to have in the cabin but otherwise we will just order off the wine list.
LeiLani

 

[SINK]

I didn't think that the wines offered by DCL in both the standard and premium packages were any good. On our 2002 3 nighter, we brought our own (Dom [sorry, I had this stored for over 10 years, need to drink it ASAP, I have not purchased any more French wines/bubblies]/Raymond/Jordan/Stags Leap) and pay the corkage.

I was very disappointed with the overall service provided by our dining staff. Not only did they mention the corkage fee on the first night, they repeated it every single night, furthermore, we did not have our Dom "uncorked" until our dessert came.

Moral of this story, although it works out better if the diner bring their own "decent" wine by paying the corkage (and not waste your taste buds on the DCL wine packages), but the service will suffer (it's very discouraging to BYOB).

 

[DVC4US]

We did not care for the wine packages they had available, but we were able to find other things on the reserve list that we liked. We took a bottle of wine to dinner on 3 occasions, including one to Palo. We did not find the service to suffer at all. Based on the bottle of wine you would order, their tip would be higher than the $17.25 so we tried to tip accordingly on the nights we took our own bottle. I think your wine tastes will determine if you like the wine packages or not. If you are used to drinking Opus One or Caymus (sp?) you will want to order off the reserve list. If you are used to wines like Sutter Homes then the wine package will probably be very nice for you and allow you to have a bottle of wine at dinner every night at a resonable price.
LeiLani

 

[hilltopfamily]

In our family, I am usually the only one drinking wine with dinner and then usually only 1 or 2 glasses. My thought is this, obviously I would not want the wine "package" but would I purchase 1 bottle at a time and they keep it for me until finished or just purchase by the glass each time? I have VERY simple tastes, wouldn't know a great wine from a fair one, though I hope I could tell a lousy one!!!! (been known to even drink wine from a box a few times in my life!! oh, nooooo! maybe I can't tell a lousy one!! )

 

[DVC4US]

Penny,

I think we've all been known to drink wine from a box on occasion. I even have a bottle of Boone's Farm or Mad Dog 20/20 in the back if the cabinet somewhere. If I remember correctly, you can keep the unfinished bottle for later use. I am not sure if you take it back to your cabin and bring it back to dinner the following evening or if they keep it for you. We always seemed to finish our bottles (hiccup!) If you do not want a whole bottle, you can buy it by the glass.

LeiLani

 

[Firefighter Mickey]

Your assistant server will take care of your bottle if you like. No need to carry it back and forth from cabin to dining room.

 

[kpgclark]

My parents sent us a bottle of wine for the cruise. We only drank part of the bottle the first night. The next night they brought the bottle out so we could finish it up. I was very disappointed because it was white wine and had not be refrigerated and was on the warm side. They will store it for you, but be warned!

I also agree with SINK. The drink service on our cruise 3/29 was slow, slow, slow.