Duty Free shops on QM2

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Today, 10:31 AM

rula40 vbmenu_register("postmenu_45192", true);

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Profile: Join Date: Jul 2005

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Duty Free shops on QM2??

I have been reading the threads about booze on board, and I am getting quite concerned.

I am not at the stage (yet) that I am considering joining AA, but I do enjoy a large JD and coke whilst getting ready for dinner, and waiting for "She who must be obeyed" to complete her magical transformation.

I have also been guilty of secreting local buys of my favorite necter on board when visiting various ports and have only been caught once, then my purchases were babysat until we disembarked on the last day (RCL Legend).

There has always been a duty free shop on the ship where you can buy litres of your favorite tipple which you can take to your room providing you pay corkage at the time of purchase. This always worked out a much better deal than room service.

Can anyone enlighten me on the chances of having this facility on the QM2, we leave Southampton in 2 weeks and I am thinking that maybe I should make an appointment with my GP and obtain a false catheta which I could fill (pre-recycled) before boarding.

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We were on QM2 in Apr 05 and I am 99% sure they had JD in the shop. Prices of gin (of which we are rather partial, were definitely less than in the shops in the UK. However, as we had taken a litre of Blue Sapphire on board with us we didn't discover whether purchases are held for disembarkation or whether you can take them away to consume at leisure in your cabin without having to pay corkage. Certainly cosmetics could be purchased and taken away.

I think a large JD and coke prior to dinner would not put you in the AA category, but if as in my case your wife takes so long to get ready as to require you to have 3 large JDs then may I recommend www.alcoholics-anonymous.org.uk

The expedient of resorting to a catheter seems rather extreme but I have heard worse of AA members. You don't have to visit your doctor, you can be much more discreet than that (and you don't appear to want to reveal your addiction) so try http://www.linkable.org/urologicals.html lol.

Have a great time on QM2, see and do as much as you can, it is spectacular.

There should be no problem. Carry a small hard case when embarking and fill it with your chosen tipple. This will go through the scanner in the usual way. The operators are not interested in your bottles, they are looking for other things. The same applies at cruise ports where your shopping bag will be scanned at the top of the gangway. We have never had any problem on Cunard.

David.

Rula,

I've found that visits to the Duty Free shop to buy cigarettes or spirits are answered with 'You can buy now, but the goods will only be delivered to your suite the last night'. I suppose that it's in their interest to stop guests drinking duty free in their suites. With regard to cigarettes, the price in their Duty Free is near to what they charge in the bars. So, I end up spending one day buying two packs per bar I visit.

If somebody boarded with cases of booze, they'd probably have them lifted, but a bottle or two is ok.

As regards getting ready - my wife and I have come to an agreement that me waiting for her to get ready is analogous to having a child in the car asking 'Are we there yet?', and it's not conducive to matrimonial harmony. Therefore, I always get ready first and depart to wait patiently in a bar for her. This has the effect of allowing me to drink unfettered whilst she's free to get ready in peace yet with the subtle knowledge that she'd better not leave it more than an hour.

Actually, I sometimes use this tactic when we're out shopping. I say to her 'I'll wait in this pub whilst you do your shopping'. It's amazing how much we save when I do that..... :)