When planning your perfect cruise vacation, you may wonder what type of drinks, wine, and champagne they will have on board. Some Cruise lines, like Disney Cruise Line and Virgin Voyages, do not have a traditional beverage package, so it may make sense to save a dollar or bring your wine on board.

Bringing a few wine bottles on board might make sense if you enjoy a glass or two of wine at home every night, but let’s go through all the different scenarios and Cruse line rules.

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Can I take a bottle of wine on my cruise ship?

Depending on the cruise line, most guests can bring a bottle or two of wine, sparkling wine, or champagne on board. Many cruise lines have different rules, but most generally agree that the bottle of wine or sparkling must be 750 ml bottles of wine.

Can I pack wine in my suitcase for a cruise?

You cannot pack wine in checked luggage for a cruise. All wine, if permitted to be on board, must be in your carry-on bag to be checked by security at the beginning of the cruise. When packing your suitcase at the beginning of the voyage, ensure you have extra clothes or bubble wrap to ensure the glass bottles will not break.

How many bottles of wine can you bring on a cruise?

Depending on your cruise line, you can bring one or two bottles per person on embarkation day. Some cruise lines, like Disney Cruise Line, allow you to bring additional bottles at each port of call.

Do cruise lines check for alcohol?

Cruise lines do check for hard liquor. If you can bring Beer or wine on board, it is not wise to try to sneak your alcohol. The cruise lines know all the tricks in the books.

Do not try to sneak alcohol on board in water bottles, rum runners, mouthwash bottles, or other means of sneaking it on. Cruise lines have strict rules, and you should follow each cruise line’s alcohol policy.

Bringing alcohol on board in foreign cruise ports?

When traveling to different countries, buy unopened bottles of alcohol from a duty-free store. This is perfectly acceptable. However, the cruise line will take the hard liquor or additional bottles of wine and store them for you until your final night of the cruise.

What happens if you get caught sneaking alcohol on a cruise?

The worst thing that could happen if you are caught sneaking alcohol on a cruise is being denied boarding and banned from the cruise line altogether. The best thing that can happen is that the alcohol is confiscated, and you do not receive it at the end of the trip.

Which Cruise lines can I Bring Wine on board?

To make things even more confusing, each cruise line has different policies about what you can bring on board. Make sure you check with your travel agent (Sunset Chasers is willing to help!) to see the rules for bringing wine on board for private consumption.

Cruise Line	Policy	Corkage Fee
Azamara	You can bring your own liquor, Beer or wine to drink in your cabin.	$10 Corkage Fee
Carnival Cruise Line	Each guest may bring one 750ml bottle of wine or Champagne per person in their carry-on luggage.	$15 corkage fee
Celebrity Cruises	Each guest may bring two 750ml bottles of wine or Champagne per stateroom in their carry-on luggage.	$25 Corkage Fee
Costa Cruises	Costa Cruises does not allow you to bring alcohol on board.	n/a
Cunard Line	Each guest may bring one 750ml bottle of wine or Champagne per person in their carry-on luggage.	$20 Corkage Fee
Disney Cruise Line	Each guest may bring two 750ml bottles of wine or Champagne per person in their carry-on luggage.	$25 Corkage Fee
Holland America Line	Each guest may bring any amount of 750ml bottle of wine or Champagne per person in their carry-on luggage. But must pay $20 to open the wine in their stateroom.	$20 Corkage Fee
MSC Cruises	MSC does not allow you to bring alcohol on board.	n/a
Norwegian Cruise Line	Each guest may bring any size (including Magnum) and a number of bottles of wine or Champagne in their carry-on luggage.	$15-30 Corkage Fee
Oceania Cruises	Each guest may up to six 750ml bottles of wine or Champagne per person in their carry-on luggage.	$25 Corkage Fee
Princess Cruises	Each guest may bring one 750ml bottle of wine or Champagne per person in their carry-on luggage not subject to a corkage fee. Any bottle of wine after that is subject to a corkage fee.	$15 Corkage fee
Regent Seven Seas Cruises	Adults have no restrictions on what alcohol they can bring.	No corkage Fee
Royal Caribbean	Each guest may bring one 750ml bottle of wine or Champagne per person in their carry-on luggage.	$25 corkage Fee
Seabourn	Adults have no restrictions on what alcohol they can bring.	No corkage Fee
Silversea Cruises	Adults have no restrictions on what alcohol they can bring, may bring on board on Embarkation and ports of call.	No corkage Fee
Viking	Adults have no restrictions on what alcohol they can bring	No corkage Fee
Virgin Voyages	Each guest may bring one 750ml bottle of wine or Champagne per person in their carry-on luggage.	$25 corkage fee
Windstar Cruises	Each guest may bring two 750ml bottles of wine or Champagne per stateroom in their carry-on luggage. If a guest is sailing more than a week they may bring 3 bottles. You may but additional wine at ports of call.	$15 Corkage Fee

Can I bring Boxed wine on board?

Boxed wine is prohibited from many cruise lines because it does not meet the maximum milliliters allowed. I know that boxed wines have come a long way since I was in college, but if you are going to bring a bottle of wine on board, I suggest you bring a higher quality wine than boxed wine.

How do I protect the wine I bring on board?

Protecting your wine and other items in your luggage is one of the best things to do when traveling. I always ensure I have a couple of these Wine Skins on hand to protect my bottles of unopened wine when boarding the ship.

Can I Take a Wine Opener on a Cruise?

If you are going to bring wine on board, you will need to figure out a way to open it! Screw-top wines are always the easiest, but bringing a small wine opener on a Cruise Ship (or airplane) should be easy. Just make sure that your wine opener is packed with your carry-on luggage so that you can start popping bottles when you board.

Where can I drink the wine on a Cruise?

I typically ask my room steward and room service for a wine glass so I can enjoy the wine in my room or balcony. Many major cruise lines prohibit you from enjoying your wine in a public area or the main dining room. If you have a particular wine, you want to have with dinner or are celebrating a special occasion. You can always bring a bottle of wine to dinner and pay the additional corkage fee.

What is a Corkage Fee?

If you want to drink a bottle of wine on board a cruise ship in a public space, most cruise lines will subject you to a corkage fee from $10-30 per bottle. Corkage fees help offset the revenue the restaurants are missing out on by bringing your wine or champagne onboard.

If you plan on bringing your bottle of wine to the restaurants, I will ensure that the retail value is at least $75 before subjecting yourself to a $25 corkage fee.

Should You Bring Your Wine on a Cruise? 

You should bring your wine on a Cruise, especially if you love fine wines! One of my favorite memories was when my family went on a Medeterrian Cruise, and we purchased a few bottles of wine at each port! We had too much alcohol and had to bring a few unopened bottles home and the end of the cruise – but we were so happy to enjoy the bottles!

What are our favorite Wines?

Sunset Chasers has tried a lot of different wines and love giving recommendations on wine. When we first went to purchase wine in Barcelona, we realized that we were no longer in North America and the grapes were different! We quickly had to figure out which bottles of wine we wanted to purchase for personal consumption on board the ship.

California Wine 

Shocker, I am not a fan of most North American Wines, but if you buy California Wine, I always go for a Russian River Valley Pinot Noir.

Italian Wine 

Italian Wines are my favorite. You can go right with a Chianti for those who like Reds or Pinto Grigio for those who like whites.

Spanish Wine 

Spanish Wines are some of my favorites. Opt for a red or white Rijoa! Both are delicious. Another one of my favorites is a Garnacha.

French Wine

When purchasing French wine, I always gravitate towards a Chateauneuf du Pape. I always try to get a 2016 or 2017 if they have them! Bourdoux is also another one of our favorite wines. 

Champagne

The champagne onboard Virgin Voyages is Moet & Chandon and Veuve Cliquot. I tend to bring a bottle or two onboard when I sail Virgin because the price point is $100-$119.

Prosecco 

If champagne is too much, I like to sip on La Marca Prosecco. It is one of my favorite proseccos to drink along or with Aperol Spritz!

How do I get my wine to my hotel room?

If sailing out of North America, I always like to check to see if there is a Total Wine and More that can deliver my alcoholic purchases to my hotel room. Even though the delivery fee might be around $10, this fee is well worth it and is a great way to save time and money!