Port Wine

Anyone ever had trouble bringing a bottle of Port on board? My wife doesn't drink much, but she does like a glass or two of Tawny. It is after all just wine...(with enough brandy added to make it interesting). We did it before and the people checking luggage didn't look twice. A Portuguese label probably helped. A woman at work said she tried and hers was confiscated. I tried searching...but the word "Port" makes that troublesome. I don't see any limit on alcohol content listed...thoughts?

I've only been on 2 cruises but both times brought port and had no issues. It probably helps if you purchase one with a "traditional" wine bottle shape.

It really is form over substance with the beverage checkers and the ones we dealt with on our last cruise didn't seem too bright. First they separated me from my wife and kids. Then they insisted that I could only bring one bottle of wine on board and I had two. I explained very politely and patiently that one was mine and one was my wife's, reminding them that they had insisted on taking her separately to the other side of the hall. I explained this once and got a blank look. I explained it again, using slightly different (yet still polite) vocabulary, just in case any of the words I had used were unfamiliar to them. I got another blank stare, along with a repeated explanation that the limit is one bottle per person. I had to shout to her across the hall (stopping everything that was going on in the room at the time - you could hear a pin drop) in order to get my wife's attention and resolve this.

Meanwhile, she was having her own issues. The 12-pack of root beer was, as far as the screeners were concerned, alcohol. It was as if they had never heard of root beer. She needed to get a second, then a third employee to help before one of them would vouch for the fact that root beer is soda, not alcohol. What a gong show.

It really is form over substance with the beverage checkers and the ones we dealt with on our last cruise didn't seem too bright. First they separated me from my wife and kids. Then they insisted that I could only bring one bottle of wine on board and I had two. I explained very politely and patiently that one was mine and one was my wife's, reminding them that they had insisted on taking her separately to the other side of the hall. I explained this once and got a blank look. I explained it again, using slightly different (yet still polite) vocabulary, just in case any of the words I had used were unfamiliar to them. I got another blank stare, along with a repeated explanation that the limit is one bottle per person. I had to shout to her across the hall (stopping everything that was going on in the room at the time - you could hear a pin drop) in order to get my wife's attention and resolve this.

 

Meanwhile, she was having her own issues. The 12-pack of root beer was, as far as the screeners were concerned, alcohol. It was as if they had never heard of root beer. She needed to get a second, then a third employee to help before one of them would vouch for the fact that root beer is soda, not alcohol. What a gong show.

Have to ask. Where were you sailing out of? San Juan?

Meanwhile, she was having her own issues. The 12-pack of root beer was, as far as the screeners were concerned, alcohol. It was as if they had never heard of root beer. She needed to get a second, then a third employee to help before one of them would vouch for the fact that root beer is soda, not alcohol. What a gong show.

rofl, this part is just downright hilarious.

I take a bottle of port wine on all my cruises and have never had any issues.

Domino D....why do you ask if its San Juan?

No problems bringing on Zinfandel Port or Sherry onboard.

Port is nothing more than fortified wine. If Carnival wants to ban it they need to make distinctions in their own policies. :rolleyes:

Thanks all. That's what I thought. :)

Domino D....why do you ask if its San Juan?

San Juan is in Puerto Rico, whose regional language is Spanish. Which means English is not their first language, and they might not know phrases like "root beer". So when they see the word "beer" in "root beer", they translate it to "cerveza" (by using a memorized dictionary definition), and they think "alcohol!" When in reality, the whole phrase "root beer" needs to be translated as a single unit, but because it's not a popular drink in Puerto Rico, not all locals know about it. (Much like horchata is not widely known outside of major mainland cities.)

To complicate the matters further, some bars now offer alcoholic root beer. But it's not a retail product (yet, I guess), so it's not something screeners gotta worry about as of now.

San Juan is in Puerto Rico, whose regional language is Spanish. Which means English is not their first language, and they might not know phrases like "root beer". So when they see the word "beer" in "root beer", they translate it to "cerveza" (by using a memorized dictionary definition), and they think "alcohol!" When in reality, the whole phrase "root beer" needs to be translated as a single unit, but because it's not a popular drink in Puerto Rico, not all locals know about it. (Much like horchata is not widely known outside of major mainland cities.)

 

To complicate the matters further, some bars now offer alcoholic root beer. But it's not a retail product (yet, I guess), so it's not something screeners gotta worry about as of now.

Sadly, no, it was Miami.

San Juan is in Puerto Rico, whose regional language is Spanish. Which means English is not their first language, and they might not know phrases like "root beer". So when they see the word "beer" in "root beer", they translate it to "cerveza" (by using a memorized dictionary definition), and they think "alcohol!" When in reality, the whole phrase "root beer" needs to be translated as a single unit, but because it's not a popular drink in Puerto Rico, not all locals know about it. (Much like horchata is not widely known outside of major mainland cities.)

 

To complicate the matters further, some bars now offer alcoholic root beer. But it's not a retail product (yet, I guess), so it's not something screeners gotta worry about as of now.

Yeah, exactly why I asked. Had thought it might have to do with the understanding of Root Beer and a translation.

Turns out it was Miami.