MS Veendam caribean LIquour

[bumpersk]

can you bring it on in your luggage? do they search? how are price to buy on ship an bring to room?

[bumpersk]

will that get by the xrays?

[sail7seas]

If you purchase liquor in the store aboard the ship, they hold the bottle(s) until the last night of the cruise and deliver it to you.

Some people have packed bottles in their checked luggage. I have never brought any liquor aboard with us. Even if I wanted to, I'd be afraid the bottle would break inside my suitcase and wreck all our clothes. :(

If you purchase a bottle ashore in one of the ports, they will take it at the gangway as you reboard the ship and will return it to you the last night of the cruise.

You may buy a bottle in advance of boarding by calling ships services in Seattle and it will be in your cabin when you board. You also can buy a bottle from one of the bars while aboard.

[jaguarstyper]

You are not allowed to bring it aboard. They Xray all of the luggage. You cannot buy liquor on the ship to bring to your room.

However, there are some options. You can order Drink packages from Ship Services and they will be delivered to your cabin at embarkation. You can choose from most popular brands. For example, a gin and tonic package consists of a 1 liter bottle of Tanqueray and 2 cans of tonic. I believe it was around $29, but please dont quote me on that. Its not a bargain, but its pretty reasonable, I think. Just call Ship Services and they can set it up in advance. I'm sure someone can post the number, since I dont have it handy. Also, keep in mind, its considered in very poor taste to bring any of your cabin booze to the pools, casino or other public areas. I'd never condone that.

You can buy liquor in the ports and most stores will deliver it to the ship where it will be held until the night before disembarkation. The prices in the Caribbean are cheap cheap cheap. One thing you can do is bring a bottle or two of wine or champagne from shore to your cabin. We usually buy a bottle or two of champagne at each port for our own personal sailaway parties each night. Its become a tradition with us.

All that said, I did bury a bottle of my favorite scotch in my suitcase on our last cruise. It made it to our cabin unharmed. If it had broken, that would have been, well, messy. I know its not right to do it, but HAL could not provide that brand and I really am hopelessly addicted to it. I must have a small glass before bedtime. If HAL could, I would...

Tim

[jaguarstyper]

will that get by the xrays?

I'm sure if you filled a water bottle with vodka, you could get it on the ship. In fact, you could probably just carry it, sipping on it all along the way.

But, is it really worth the aggrevation to save $10-15, when you can purchase it from Ship Services?

You've already spent a ton of money for the cruise, whats a few more? Seriously folks.

Tim

[Sea Island Lady]

Someone mentioned tonic. My Dad drinks tonic water before he goes to bed at night for leg cramps. Will he be allowed to bring a couple of bottles of diet tonic (without the gin or vodka) on board in his carry on? We were going to stop at a grocery store or 7-11 before heading to the port in San Diego. ;) he is diabetic, so he needs to have the diet and he likes a certain type of tonic.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Yes you can bring soda, tomic, etc., like that onto the ship - no problems.

And there will be a crew member at the gangway in every port in the Caribbean to take away alcohol you try to bring on the ship yourself.

In Nassau we watched several people empty out water bottles and fill them with alcohol. The cutest one was a woman very concerned about how they going to be able to tell which water bottles had the vodka and which ones had the gin. They 3 of each and the husband was having a hard time carrying the box of "water bottles".

[dramamama]

Our stateroom had a wet bar with a nice variety of minature bottles of liquor and wine. The prices are very reasonable and some of the bottles were cheaper than drinks in the bars. The refrigerator is also well stocked with mixers if you don't want to bring your own on the ship.

[bumpersk]

tim, if they x-ray then how did you get the bottle of scotch on?

[michmike]

have taken a plastic 750 ml bottle of gin in my luggage now on 5 cruises w/o incident.. seal it in a gallon size baggy.. no big deal.. also carried on a bottle of booze in my wife's tote bag in 2 different ports last nov on volendam.. no one bothered us about it.. worst case scenario they take the ones in prt away and return at the end of the trip.. as for those in your suitcase.. all a matter of whether you're willing to risk breakage.. as for all the "don't break the rules" types.. ignore them.. and their effete carry-on of wine and champagne..

[Sea Island Lady]

Anyone know the beer prices on HAL? Do they have a bucket price/special on the first day, like other cruiselines? My DH takes a small collapsible cooler to ice down Coors light for in-room consumption while getting ready for dinner. He has one on the veranda while leaving port and one in the room.

[flamingogal]

Sea Island Lady - On the Westerdam 1/9 they did have the bucket special in most of the bars on the first day. They also had 2 for 1 during bingo every day. We stocked up during the sales and kept the beer iced in our cabin. This worked our really well $ wise, and was convenient. I think the price for the Bucket of 6 was $10 - a real bargain on HAL!!! :)

[jaguarstyper]

tim, if they x-ray then how did you get the bottle of scotch on?

It wasnt in a carryon, but in check through luggage. I guess, even though they X-ray them, they dont actually open and inspect them. I did nothing to hide it and figured if it did get removed, oh well.

Personally, I think HAL is just trying to keep people from really getting ridiculous with bringing booze on the ship. I think a single bottle packed in a suitcase will probably be let through.

I would also say, I think its in poor taste to bring this to the public bars and decks.

Tim

[Sea Island Lady]

flamingogal - Thank you!