corkage fee at dinner..does anyone know About This Page:

[tinkeringaround]

Hi, we are sailing on the Disney Fantasy in april. Does anyone know if we bring a bottle of wine to dinner already opened, is there a corkage fee and gratuity added then?? thanks.

[Dave Marx]

Yes, they're entitled to charge it. Whether they will charge it is a different matter. The staff always has some discretion, but the staff also takes a risk by not supporting the establishment's best interests.

They may call it "corkage," but it's really not for pulling the cork (or twisting the cap). It's like bringing your own candy to a movie theater, or trying to bring your own food to a restaurant. It's their house, they make their money selling those items and services.

Sure, one might slip some cash to the maitre d' upon being seated, but unless the server gives some of that money to the boss, the boss comes up on the short end. Maybe the server gets fired for conspiring with the customer against the house. Is it fair to expect the server to risk his/her job?

Corkage is a social compromise that allows the customer to have the wine of his/her choice (often saving far more than the cost of the corkage fee), the owner to be compensated for the real costs of beverage service (washing and breakage of glassware, laundering wine-stained table linens, etc.) and to recover some of the profits lost (alcoholic beverage sales are often an important piece of an establishment's profitability), and to avoid putting the staff's job at risk.

BYOB is an entirely different thing. The establishment has no liquor license, and it's in the best interest of the house to support patrons who do bring their own wine. Otherwise, they might not dine there at all.