Alcohol for use in cabin

Are we allowed to take alcohol onto the ship for private use in our own stateroom?

I have read that we can take wine for use in the dining room (corkage fee to pay of course) is this correct?

Can't speak for Celebrity (first cruise with them next year) or for wine, but I know that NCL will confiscate any liquor you bring on board and hold it until your cruise is over. I also know that if you buy on board in the duty free shop or if you buy on shore, they will take those purchases and hold them (usually returned the last night of the cruise).

From the Celebrity Web Site:

No alcoholic beverages may be purchased ashore for consumption onboard. Onboard purchases from the gift shop of any bottle of liquor will be held until the last night of the cruise when it will be delivered to the stateroom.

This policy is fairly standard among the mass market cruise lines on this side of the pond. Many passengers still desire to bring a bottle for their room and have success at packing it in their checked luggage or even carry on.

The worst that can happen is that they hold the bottle until the end of the cruise and you get it back on the last night. And then you are left to carry it back home :rolleyes:

We just go off the Zenith yesterday. Every cruise that we've gone on we brought a bottle of gin in our checked luggage and never had a problem. It doesn't matter what cruise line we've been on. If you bring alcohol in your carry on they will confiscate it, give you a receipt and hold it until the end. I've heard of people bring a case of wine in a suitcase and never getting caught. I've only left out of New York and P&O security checks your luggage, not the cruise line. My feeling is that they're looking for things dealing with safety issues rather than alcohol.

Just an observation. It will be interesting to see how easy it will be in the future to pack bottles in checked luggage and not have them taken away, with the new security rules that have taken effect on July 1.

Even if you get alcohol confiscated I personally feel the prices on Celebrity for alcohol are not that bad. They're the same as in any restaurant. Even though we brought a bottle of gin with us we barely used it only because it's so nice to sit in a lounge, sipping a glass of wine, while listening to music.

wv4891, what are the new security rules? I haven't heard anything. Thanks

Emilysmom,

There is a small article on it at the home page of this website. Not sure how it will affect us....

http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=1135

Bill

Thanks!

You are welcome, enjoy your 4th.

Bill

Thanks!

We have had a couple of instances (can't remember which lines) where we have returned to the ship from port with alcohol. On at least one occasion nothing was said and we took it to our room. Another time the security person on the x-ray machine asked if it was alcohol, we said yes. There was no one to turn it in to so he just shrugged his shoulders an sent us to our room (with the alcohol).

In both cases we were taking the bottles back as gifts or for personal use at home. We never have opened a bottle in the room :rolleyes: We actually would have preferred that they store it for us for the duration of the cruise.

If you choose to disguise your liquor, use some common sense.

At check-in for NCL in Dec 2003, a gentleman in front of me had a clear liquid in a Coca-Cola bottle. They opened; they sniffed; they took. I had my vodka in a water bottle. They saw; they ignored; I enjoyed.

Zenith 16Jan2005

The only wine I enjoy is Franzia Zinfandel in the boxes (I cannot stand dry aged wines). We spend PLENTY of $$$ on the ship for other items, but I always packed my box of wine in the checked luggage (fits into a ZipLoc 2 1/2 gal. plastic bag for extra security regarding leakage). After luggage is delivered to stateroom, I remove it and put it into our

refrigerator. The stewards never seemed to care on any cruiseline that we were on. As for purchasing liquor aboard or in port, they will hold it until the night before you debark. Our most recent cruise was last week. Hope this is helpful to you.