Disney Cruise Line Increases Dining Room Service Rates

Bringing your own alcohol on a cruise ship is a popular way to save money. Most mainstream cruise lines allow passengers 21 or older to bring at least one unopened 750-milliliter bottle of wine or champagne per person. Most cruise lines also allow you to bring one or two bottles to each port of call.

Corkage is usually charged if you want to bring your own bottle of wine into a cruise ship dining room to enjoy with your dinner. Corkage varies by cruise line and ranges from $10 to $35 per bottle.

Related: Carnival Cruise Line has a strict dining policy

Disney Cruise Line allows guests to bring two bottles of wine per person on board, but charges one of the highest corkage fees of any cruise line. Now, the cruise line has raised its already high rate.

Starting in September 2024, Disney Cruise Line passengers who bring their own bottle of wine or Champagne to drink with their meal in any of the dining rooms will be charged a $29 corkage fee per bottle. The previous $27 corkage fee was already significantly higher than what most other cruise lines charge.

Many cruise lines, including Royal Caribbean and Celebrity, rarely or never charge corkage fees.

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Image source: Disney Cruises

Disney Cruise Line’s corkage fee is now nearly double what some other cruise lines charge

Royal Caribbean and Carnival Cruise Line both charge a $15 corkage fee per bottle for personal wine or champagne consumed in the dining room. Carnival’s Princess Cruises and Holland America Line charge a $20 corkage fee per bottle.

Related: Compare Prices Between Disney and Royal Caribbean Cruises

Regardless of which cruise line you sail with, the best way to avoid paying corkage fees is to open your own bottles of wine in your cabin. Just ask your cabin attendant for some wine glasses and a corkscrew.

Most cruise lines advise passengers to only consume their own wine in their cabins to avoid corkage fees, but you will generally not be charged if you bring your own glass of wine to dinner. Many passengers will purchase a glass of wine at an onboard bar before dinner and then bring it into the dining room anyway.

Specifically for Disney Cruise Line, planDisney panelists advise passengers who plan to sail with the cruise line that they can bring a glass of their own wine to dinner without having to pay for it.

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Disney Cruise Line Wine Packages Offer Savings

If you don’t want to bring your own bottles of wine on board but still want to drink wine on your Disney cruise, you can save money by purchasing a Disney Cruise Wine Package.

While Disney Cruise Line does not offer its passengers the opportunity to save on alcohol costs by purchasing alcoholic beverage packages like other cruise ships, the company does offer savings of up to 25% on its wine packages.

Related: 3 Popular Amenities You Won’t Find on a Disney Cruise Lines Ship

Disney Cruise Wine Packages offer wines to pair with your dinner each evening. Both Classic and Premium wine packages are available with options ranging from 3 to 7 bottles. Prices start at $105 for a 3-bottle Classic Wine Package. A Beer Mug Saver Package is also available.

Once you purchase a wine package for your Disney cruise, you can choose your bottles of wine from the available options on the day of embarkation.

If you don’t drink all the bottles of wine included in your package during your cruise, you can take them home with you. Passengers are allowed to bring a maximum of two bottles of wine off the ship. However, alcoholic beverages may not be taken off the ship if they have been opened.

READ ALSO: Top Travel Agents Share How to Get the Best Price on Your Cruise

If you don’t finish a bottle during dinner, you can take it back to your cabin or your waitstaff can save it for your next dinner. They will rotate the bottle to the next dining room you visit using Disney Cruise Line’s rotation system. You can also order more than one bottle of wine per night from your package.

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