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Bringing alcohol on board


beelane

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I've read in some postings that some people bring their own alcohol on board with them as the drinks are so expensive on the ship. I'm not a big drinker but still can't see paying so much for drinks. We are going on Royal Caribbean, Enchantment of the Seas. Does anyone know if it is a problem to bring our own alcohol with us? I know on past cruises, if we bought alcohol in the shops on the ship, we couldn't have it until the last day of the cruise which defeats the whole purpose. Does anyone know if this is still the case or should we try to bring our own? Will they take it from us if we have it in our luggage?

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from what I've seen on the boards (first cruise isn't for another week and a half!) you can get away with some liquor on RCI -- our documents even say that RCI reserves the right to refuse OR limit the amount of alcohol brought on board (if they absolutely ban carry ons wouldn't it just say "refuse" not limit??) --- you will find tons of stories of people who had whole suitcases overflowing with liquor that made it through, some people that had one bottle that didn't!! Really I think it will depend on your behavoir (someone posted that if you showed up looking like a drunken slob they were more likely to look closely and take all?? not sure about that but....), the attitude/experience/mood of the person scanning your stuff the day of embarkation - and really LUCK!!

 

But I've also heard that the liquor is pretty cheap in the store on board - and there are rumors to great deals the first day -- there is a consumption fee ($9.50 a bottle -- sometime deals on this too) to take it to your room - and wine I think there is a corkage fee (not sure what it is). Lots of people have posted that it is pretty comparable to buy liquor on board instead of buying it at home and transporting it to the cruise.... IMHO We are planning on bringing our own wine/champagne and buying liquor on the boat.

 

I'm sure you will get TON of opinions on this one too!!

 

happy cruising!:D

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The easiest and least stressful way is to just buy it onboard. The onboard prices are cheap enough that, even with the in room cabin consumption fee of $9.50 it isn't much more expensive than buying it before getting onboard and trying to sneak it on. Besides, if for some odd reason you get caught, as I understand it you'll have to pay a onboard consumption fee anyway or have your bottle held until the end of the cruise.

 

For me I've found it's easier to bring the mixers and just buy the bottle onboard and pay the in room consumption fee. No stress this way.

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There are two ways that you can have your own liquor in your room to mix your own drinks. The first is to buy it in the ships liquor store the first night and pay a $9.50 charge per bottle to take it to your room. Even with the $9.50 charge the liquor is so cheap that the total price is about what you would pay at home. The second option is to buy it before you board and put it in your checked luggage. Securely wrapped in a plastic bag so it won't leak. I have never had a problem with taking liquor aboard in my checked luggage. We take coconut flavored rum and mix it with the free lemonade.

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We were on a Carnival cruise and we emptied out water bottles and filled them full of alcohol. It helps the we are big rum and vodka drinkers. In any case, we put them inside of 2 ziploc bags and stuffed them inside of our shoes for extra protection. They only search your carry ons. The other suitcases are scanned so its no problem. We were just very careful to pack them so they would bust all over our clothes.

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My neighbor on our last cruise carried 2 cases of beer onboard. I had wine, rum, Bailey's. Nothing was hidden. Didn't empty out any water bottles and refill them. Our bar tab was still quite hefty but it was nice having drinks on our balcony when we wanted...

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Can anyone tell me which types and/or brands they ususally put on sale the first day......specifically on the Mariner. We would like to get some coconut rum and some vodka.........crown royal would be good also. Just curious if it is only a few or if the selection is good. Thanks.

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Where can I find the information about buying alcohol on the first night in the ship's store? Does all of Royal Caribbean ships do this? This is my fourth cruise(2 with Carnival and 2 with Royal Caribbean) and I've never heard of that before. I think it's a great idea. I was pretty nervous about bringing it in my luggage and with my luck, the bottle would break.

 

We are leaving for Fort Lauderdale this Saturday 12/4 and staying in a hotel for a couple of days. Cruising out 12/6. Cannot wait!!! :) Need to get away from the cold (from Maine).

 

Also, they say we can't board before two in my documents but I've read that many people get on board between 11-2. When should it be safe to take a taxi from our hotel to the ship and be able to board with no problem?

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We have brought our own on with no problem mon. We have bought it on the ship and taken it back to the cabin with no problem mon. We have bought 12 packs of soda and beer, at a port stop and brought it back on board with no problem mon. The cabin Steward has kept it iced down for us with no problem mon.

 

And I still seam to have a healthy tab at the end of the cruise, but, no problem mon !:D

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