Q – My husband has asked me to ask you if we can bring about five or six bottles of wine aboard the AMAPrima. He gets a bit grouchy when he is offered wines of poor or even medium quality and he would like to know that he can bring at least a few bottles top keep in the cabin and enjoy during the cruise. We’ve never done a river boat before but on the larger ships he has brought his wines on-board and they have charged him a corkage fee which drives him nuts but he still pays it because he loves his wines. He’s got a temper and I don’t want him to freak out.
I think he also wants to know about whether they will let him buy wines in port to bring aboard. Searching these small towns for a bottle he would like is mostly what he wants to do in port while I go off on the tours. Any advice would be appreciated.
Q – Our initial bit of advice is that you consider bringing a divorce attorney on the cruise in place of your husband. But short of that ………. cruise ships and river boats are able to maintain fair pricing because they can maintain a predictable level of on-board spending (OBS). It is extremely low class to try to save a few dollars by bringing your own wine or liquor on-board a ship. If the quality of wine served is not to your husband’s liking, you are on the wrong ship for his obviously sophisticated palate. In fact, AMA leads the way in wine-themed cruises and pays particular attention tot he quality of wines it serves aboard its vessels.
On AMA, it is acceptable to buy a bottle or two in port and to bring it to the dining room to have it served with your dinner. There will not be any corkage fee. The important thing to know about river boats is that it is very much against the rules to drink wine you purchased on your own in any of the public lounges. It is extremely rude to know the rules going in and then to flaunt them by interfering with the river boats need to generate on-board revenue.
One final recommendation. See if you can change your reservation to join one of AMA;s excellent wine-themed cruises. Who knows, your husband might even learn a few things about wine.
