Bringing alcohol on board

[parothdlar]

We have been cruising lately with Radisson so bringing alcohol on board was no big thing with them. How does HAL feel about bringing a bottle of your fav wine on board or a bottle of booze? After cruising on Carnival, Norweign, Celebrity, Royal Car. I know how drinks can add up. We also like to bring a six pack of the island we are visiting on board ..

[JoeCruisin]

I don't know first hand but from reading many threads about this topic this is what I know: 1) you can bring wine on board and drink it in your cabin. If you have it at dinner there is a corkage fee between $15-$18 w/gratuity. 2) You cannot bring any other kind of alcohol on board in your carry on or they wiill confiscate and return it to you after the cruise. 3) You can smuggle alcohol on board if it's in your checked baggage. 4) Non alcocholic beverages seem to be ok but probably frowned upon. 5) you can pre-order wine for dinner or in your cabin in packages or as cheap as $14 per bottle for a chardonnay or merlot, but even these choices can be changed once on board. These prices may have been recently increased to $18 per bottle. I ordered 2 weeks ago and got $14. 6) you can buy hard liquor by the bottle on the ship or in advance to have in your room and it sounds like the prices are reasonable.

[stillfrantic]

To have liquer in the cabin, you need to either order in advance through ship services, or though room service once onboard. Seems the store on the ships will no longer allow the bottles to be taken to the room. Store purchases will be delivered at the end of the cruise for taking home. Sounds like the same for alcohol purchases in ports....they say they hold it for return on the last day.

[jazzsea]

I have some Holland America cruise clients that are irate over the new liquor policies. Two gentlemen in particular have their own solution. They fill large, plastic mouthwash bottles with their favorite brand and send it aboard in their checked luggage. After a minor spill on their Alaska cruise they now double bag their "mouthwash" in zip locks.

I find it rather humerous. The same liquor brands can be purchased in advance from ship services and they will be delivered to your cabin. Yes, you might pay a few dollars extra for the preordered booze but imagine what it cost this guy to wash and dry the clothes that were dripping in vodka? I laugh every time I think about it.

[JoeCruisin]

I don't think you need to go through the effort of putting booze in scope bottles if it's in your checked luggage. The bottle you bought it in should be fine and a lot safer. HAL is not going to be going through your checked baggage looking for alcohol - it's not that big of a deal. But your carry on bags are checked more thoroughly and if they see it they'll take it.

[sail7seas]

I am of the impression that as the checked baggage is all x-rayed before it is loaded aboard, they KNOW when there are liquor bottles inside. At the moment, they are not bothering about it but, orf course, that could change at any time.

If a lot of people are putting liquor bottles in the suitcases, it could take a long time and alot of paging on the intercom system for every one of the liquor smugglers to come and open the suitcase and hand over the bottles for HAL to hold until the end of the cruise. That would delay delivery of luggage so ridicuously that it is hard to imagine they will do that any time soon. I seriously doubt they will become like TSA and start riffling through our luggage out of our presence. Way too much liability for folks claiming all sorts of things stolen.

[boards]

Has anyone ordered any whiskey on board ship or in advance (Crown Royal for example), if so how much did it cost?

[JoeCruisin]

I don't think they will ever confiscate bottles out of checked baggage. It would cost HAL way too much time and money not to mention the anger of passengers to ever start doing this. They have more important things to scan for in checked baggage like metal guns and explosives to worry about someone's bottle of vodka.

[Krazy Kruizers]

:)

We have never bothered to bring alcohol onto a ship - not even when it was legal.

We used to buy alcohol for the room at the boutique.

But once the new rules were put into place, we just wait till we get on the ship and order a bottle through room service.

:)

[CDRMark]

According to the HAL liquor list, Crown Royal is $40.00 the bottle.

[elmorejj]

KK that`s what we do also, although it was much cheaper on our last cruise in April than it is now.
On our BtoBs in Dec. I shall purchase a bottle in the boutique, let them hold it for me till Friday night, then I`ll have it in my cabin for my second leg!!...jean ;) ;)

[Krazy Kruizers]

:) Jean

We have thought about buying a bottle in the boutique the first week and letting them hold it for us till the end of the week so that we can have it the next week.

Wonder if it will work? Do you think the front desk will keep track of those doing back-to-back cruises and buying liquor on board?

I will be anxious to hear how you make out.

:)

[sail7seas]

Jean and KK........good plan and I will be interested to see if it works. It should. IMO


We have never had anything but some bottles of gift wine in our cabin. Simply our choice to go to the lounges rather than drink in our Suite.

On our recent Maasdam cruise, we asked two bartenders if we could (if we wished) buy a bottle of vodka from them at the bar. Yes, we could and we could do with it whatever we wished including bring it to our cabin. We didn't do it and do not know what the price was but it is possible to have liquor in your cabin that way.

[boards]

Do you think they would do the same for a 14 day cruise, after the first week give the bottle? I might try that. Naaa, I'll just order one from room service.

[elmorejj]

We have different booking #s for our BtoBs so it shouldn`t be a problem. The boutique is a consession so HAL probably doesn`t keep check on liquor, plus when you buy in the boutique you have to pick it up yourself on the Friday afternoon, it is not delivered by stewards. Anyway, I`ll give it a try and let you know......jean :cool:

[gizmo]

Do you think they would do the same for a 14 day cruise, after the first week give the bottle? I might try that. Naaa, I'll just order one from room service.
No, this would not work on a 14 day cruise. The booze would be delivered the last night of the cruise.

[merryecho]

I am one of the passengers who is very unhappy with the new policy. We are doing the Panama Canal with several friends, and booked a suite so we could get together and have a cocktail or two before dinner, etc. Some of the group are better off than others, and I hate the battle over who gets the check. After we booked, HAL changed their liquor policy. Now, we are supposed to serve people little airplane bottles, at who knows what each.
I hate being nickel and dimed- on last year's Norwegian cruise the bar was fully stocked, for free.

[sail7seas]

You don't have to serve little airline size nips to your guests. You can pre-order bottles of whatever you want from Ship's Services prior to your cruise and it will be in your cabin when you arrive. Or you can call Room Service and order bottles of liquor delivered.

[merryecho]

Yes- at double or triple the cost of buying it on shore. Fine for 1 bottle, but when you are entertaining, for 10 days, and everyone drinks something different, it adds up. As I say, I hate being gouged every time I turn around. In the future we are sticking with Silver Sea.

[anngie]

If the prices were comparable to the the prices at any liquor store in Ft Lauderdale I would gladly pre-order a package but $40 a bottle for Crown Royal is price gouging.

[stillfrantic]

If the prices were comparable to the the prices at any liquor store in Ft Lauderdale I would gladly pre-order a package but $40 a bottle for Crown Royal is price gouging.
I know how you feel after ordering $19:eek: six-packs of beer.:(

[JoeCruisin]

Merryecho - do yourself a favor and simply throw a few bottles of your favorite liquor in your CHECKED baggage and you will be fine and save mucho dinero. Don't spend another second worrying about it.

[superstein61]

I don't think you need to go through the effort of putting booze in scope bottles if it's in your checked luggage. The bottle you bought it in should be fine and a lot safer. HAL is not going to be going through your checked baggage looking for alcohol - it's not that big of a deal. But your carry on bags are checked more thoroughly and if they see it they'll take it.
Yep - speaking from personal experience :D just pack those bottles in your checked luggage. No need to transfer to mouthwash or other bottles. Then enjoy.

I pack mine the morning before boarding the ship (ie I fly down the night before and don't pack it for the airline flights)

[nani1223]

If the prices were comparable to the the prices at any liquor store in Ft Lauderdale I would gladly pre-order a package but $40 a bottle for Crown Royal is price gouging.
Also, isn't the liquor HAL buys duty free!?! In the old days buying a drink aboard ship was very affortable. I can remember $2.50 a drink. Then the prices kept going up and up. Two years ago we purchased a bottle of gin and rum on the Maasdam from the boutique and brought it to our rooms. The price was cheaper than we could buy on land since it was duty free. No problem bringing to our room either. Charging you now triple the price is outrageous and I can understand why people want to smuggle booze onboard. HAL has changed alot of their policies probably because they are owned by Carnival. Let the big boys play...

[cruisemate]

If you are on a B2B cruise, then there would be no problem to collect your liquor from the ships boutique at the end of the first week, as I have done it myself! The store clerk has no idea when you are leaving the ship, it is definetely a lot cheaper than paying the crazy room service prices.It used to be so nice to be able to but the liquor in the ships stores and take it straightaway, I spoke to the store clerk on my trip, and they told me that HAL had implemented the policy that way, as they wanted people to buy the higher priced liquor from HAL through room service and not the from the stores Looks like this took too much money away from HAL and people not drinking as much in their bars
Shame really....

[gizmo]

Also, isn't the liquor HAL buys duty free!?! In the old days buying a drink aboard ship was very affortable. I can remember $2.50 a drink. Then the prices kept going up and up. Two years ago we purchased a bottle of gin and rum on the Maasdam from the boutique and brought it to our rooms. The price was cheaper than we could buy on land since it was duty free. No problem bringing to our room either. Charging you now triple the price is outrageous and I can understand why people want to smuggle booze onboard. HAL has changed alot of their policies probably because they are owned by Carnival. Let the big boys play...
I agree the prices are outrageous and a rip off. :mad: Hal does buy it duty free. If they reduced the price to what is was in the boutique I would bet that Hal would make more money in the long run, on pure volume. People would not be smuggling it on board if they could buy it cheaper on the ship, thus more volume. My cousin cruised recently on Hal. He has never in the past smuggled a bottle of scotch on board, since he always bought one in the boutique. His last cruise, he put one in his luggage.

[lknick]

HAL has changed alot of their policies probably because they are owned by Carnival.Carnival Corp has owned HAL for 16 years.

Stop beating that horse...there's always dress code.

[elmorejj]

I wouldn`t mind even paying a 40% markup...used to be 20%.....to take it to my cabin. I also remember when ships advertised their bar drinks at duty free prices, but now they are equal to or higher than on shore prices......jean

[trubey]

Shore prices?

In my local Tavern, I pay 80 centimos for a Carlsberg or Heineken, 60 to 75 for a local.

Hard liquor is usually about 80 centimos to 1 euro, but the mixer is extra, maybe 65 centimos for a coke or a soda water. Table wine is 50 centimos for 20cl.

Bombay Sapphire is 11 euros for 750ml in the grocery, and our normal table wine, a Spanish vin de pays, is about 60 centimos per litre. Of course there are more expensive bottles but most aren't reliable.

This is going to be some EXTREME culture shock.

Lane

[anngie]

I just wonder if HAL confiscates liqueurs. Recently we sailed on the Carnival Glory and they allowed me and everyone else who bought them to bring ligueurs brought on board from the Progreso city market. I guess there is not a lot of alcohol in them or maybe it would take too long to catalog them.
I was also able to buy liquor to take home from the ship's store on Friday morning before going into port on Saturday. They even had a good sale on some brands.

[RevNeal]

do yourself a favor and simply throw a few bottles of your favorite liquor in your CHECKED baggage

I wouldn't suggest one "throw a few bottles" into their checked luggage ... that's a recipe for booze soaked clothing. Make sure you seal the bottles, one at a time, into a liquid-tight bag. Then, wrap each in soft clothing or towels or something so that, if the bags get dropped, banged, or otherwise roughly handled they don't break and leave you smelling like a distillery.

Not that I smuggle booze ... I just don't want to see other people's luggage getting soaked from broken bottles of Scotch and Gin.

Also, I don't think that the booze one orders from ship's services is priced at 3 or 4 times the cost of such booze at liquor stores in one's home town. Are they marked up? Sure. Is HAL making a profit? I sure hope so ... I own Carnival Stock.

[cruzinchar]

Well, I'm just trying to scope out all the possibilities here.....we have a verandah cabin booked on the Statendam in Alaska on Aug. 22nd, and a couple of our best friends have decided to book the cruise at the last minute. They will have an inside cabin, or whatever (they have a guarantee). I know that we are going to be relaxing and/or entertaining our friends in our cabin and we want to have some drinks. Here are our options as I see it......we can bring bottles of wine on board, no problem. We can pre-order bottles of wine and also bottles of liquor, if we call Ships Services and get an order form from them. Or we can smuggle liquor in our checked luggage. Or, final choice, I believe, is that we can order bottles of liquor from room service. That's true, right? Not just drinks from room service, but also able to order entire bottles of liquor? My question is simply, is the price the same if you pre-order bottles of liquor from Ships Services or if you order bottles from room service? I'm trying to cross all my tee's and dot all my i's before I go. Thanks in advance.

[FoxyTerrier]

My question is simply, is the price the same if you pre-order bottles of liquor from Ships Services or if you order bottles from room service? I'm trying to cross all my tee's and dot all my i's before I go. Thanks in advance.

Price is exactly the same!!! If you wait and order via room service you will have it within 5 to 10 minutes. We smuggled a bottle we bought in the duty free shop at the airport and then also bought a bottle via room service. We also ordered drinks in the casino and disco. I guess you could say we did a little of each. One odd thing is I had heard the wine package program had been discontinued so I pre-ordered a bottle of wine for each night and asked for them to be held in the dining room. When we boarded all 10 bottles were in our room. We got the run around on how to get them to the dining room at one point I had to insist I was NOT bring them to the dining room myself.

[digby]

Also, isn't the liquor HAL buys duty free!?! In the old days buying a drink aboard ship was very affortable. I can remember $2.50 a drink. Then the prices kept going up and up. ..

I think prices on board are cheap when compared to land restaurants. Where can you get a $2.50 drink at a fine restaurant in any big city? I've paid as much as $12.00 for a martini on land.

[tora.v]

We cruised the Maasdam in April. In order to enjoy an afternoon cocktail in our cabin, we rebottled rum, port, and sherry into dark green wine bottles and asked a neighbor to cork and label them. I wrapped them in bubble wrap and brought them on board in my checked luggage. Since wine is allowed, we thought rebottling would avoid having it confiscated - if it was checked or questioned. We had no problems and would definately do it again. We even brought in a case of diet canned soda with no problems (once again in our checked luggage). Good luck.

[anngie]

Digby, when did you buy a drink on a ship for $2.50? The cheapest drink is the drink of the day in a small glass for $3.75 or $4.25. Now with gratuity added it will be more than that.
The $2.50 price was in the old days.

[sail7seas]

Same question here, Digby. Where/what drink on board for $2.50? Been a very long time since we've seen prices like that.

[Orcrone]

Same question here, Digby. Where/what drink on board for $2.50? Been a very long time since we've seen prices like that.Maybe bottled water.:rolleyes:

[elmorejj]

If you are bent on bringing liquor onboard in checked luggage, you might want to check out Maggellans travel catalogue, they have totally unbreakable half liter flasks, and a newer item is an inflatable bottle wrap. I have owned a couple of the flasks for many years and they have been on many, many International trips with me with no leakage problems......jean :cool: