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Smuggling Alcohol On Board


niknik

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Does anyone have any experience smuggling alcohol on board RCL cruises? I've done it every time I've cruised on Carnival, with no problem. But I'd like to know if it's done on RCL cruises. Have you done it? Did you need to put it in Scope bottles, etc. or did you leave it in it's regular bottle?

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I've never had problems on Carnival OR RCCL. I've placed wine bottles in my suitcase & I've emptied LARGE Evian water bottles and refilled them with rum or vodka. Never an issue. I have never put a large vodka bottle, though, in my suitcase.

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We just got off the Enchantment and boarded the ship with a bottle of Myers Rum in our carry on. No problem. But in reality, it's just a cheap to buy liquor onboard, even with the $9.50 surcharge to deliver it to your cabin.

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I usually take some v-8 mini's and some vodka minis...not that I don't want to pay for drinks..just don't want to wait for room service in the AM...have NEVER had a problem..Last year in San Juan my husband bought a bottle of Grey goose (liter) for pre-night and had almost 3/4 left. He just carried it on in his backpack.

RCL reserves the right to limit what you bring on..i don't think you need to "hide It."

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On the Serenade we brought a bottle each of our fav scotch & vodka, in their original containers in the checked luggage... no problems and brought some tonic & limes in a shopping bag when we boarded. BUT, we will buy bottles onboard next time to save the suitcase space.

 

Kevin

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I've done the smuggling thing before, but never again. We didn't have any problem getting it on board, but why bother when you can purchase the booze at the shop on the ship for about the same price? Now I just go to the store the first night out and load up for the cruise. That would be a bottle of scotch for me and a bottle of vodka for DW. We always have some left over to leave for the steward. :)

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In reply to my message, a couple of you said that it was just as cheap and easy to buy the liquor on board. I've only sailed on Carnival, but on their ships if you buy your liquor on board, it gets delivered to your room the night befor the cruise is over. Not much help there. Does RCCL let you buy liquor on board and take immediate possession of it? If so, that would be great.

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You may purchase as much liquor as you wish to take to your room ... but you have to pay a fee of $9.50 per bottle for this privilege That's pretty reasonable considering you could only purchase about two drinks for that amount.

 

Beer can be purchased by the single or by the bucket at all the bars ... I think. I've only purchased it at the pool bar. Can you believe I left one beer in our refrigerator??? :D I can't!

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For "Paradise" we bought 6 1-liter bottles of Poland Spring water a few days before the cruise, and refilled two with Grey Goose. We refilled a Listerine bottle with Knob Creek, and put our dry vermouth in a 4 oz. generic plastic bottle. All was packed in our suitcases, and we had no problems -- forgot the olives, though :)

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For "Paradise" we bought 6 1-liter bottles of Poland Spring water a few days before the cruise, and refilled two with Grey Goose. We refilled a Listerine bottle with Knob Creek, and put our dry vermouth in a 4 oz. generic plastic bottle. All was packed in our suitcases, and we had no problems -- forgot the olives, though :)

 

Yes, but how would you have gotten the olives in the toothpaste tube?

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We enjoy a nice glass of wine or two on the balcony - this we do pack as there is none to be had in the "duty free" shop and the ship's markup is outrageous. We also pack bottled water and diet Pepsi (also not available) - no problems.

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My husband has taken a case of beer on all but our last cruise. The reason we didn't try it the last time was because we didn't have room in a suitcase for a 17 day trip.

 

on the Serenade do they sell Beer ?
You can get a bucket of beer on the first day only (buy 5 get one free) and put it in your stateroom. Take a collapsible cooler to ice down the beer. Continue to buy a bucket of 5 as needed. We left two in the stateroom
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Here goes, and I know I'm going to get flamed....although I don't care that anyone 'smuggles' liquor or sodas or water onboard, and I don't care what anyone wears in the dining room, I find it amusing that 'smuggling' appears to be condoned, but not strictly adhering to the dress code causes a ruckus....

 

M.

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Here goes, and I know I'm going to get flamed....although I don't care that anyone 'smuggles' liquor or sodas or water onboard, and I don't care what anyone wears in the dining room, I find it amusing that 'smuggling' appears to be condoned, but not strictly adhering to the dress code causes a ruckus....

 

M.

All us, normally flame throwers, are in a mellow mood today!

As for the OP's question. Carnival will not sell liquor for in cabin consumption, but RCI will. On our last cruise we purchased 3 bottles in the duty free store the first night and were only charged a single $9.50 surcharge that covered all three bottles.

I had about 2/3 of a bottle of Tanguaray left at the end of the cruise and ended up smuggling it off the ship in my checked luggage. BTW, even if there had been a $9.50 / bottle charge, it still would have been cheaper than buying retail. Mixers are available at any bar for $1.50 / can and juices can be had in the Windjammer. Just fill up an empty water bottle. No need to smuggle beer unless you're a PBR fan.

Stretch

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Here goes, and I know I'm going to get flamed....although I don't care that anyone 'smuggles' liquor or sodas or water onboard, and I don't care what anyone wears in the dining room, I find it amusing that 'smuggling' appears to be condoned, but not strictly adhering to the dress code causes a ruckus....

 

M.

 

 

O.K. Here goes. When you pay good money to go on a cruise, a lot of your experience depends on what is going on around you visually. We enjoy going out to eat in a nice restaurants because it makes us feel special for that time. It feels nice to look around and see everyone dressed up. It creates a fantasy to some degree. When we go to Disney World, the atmosphere they create around you has much to do with how much we all enjoy being there. When we go out on Halloween, would it be as enjoyable if no one dressed up? The bottom line is that when you get all gussied up for a fancy night and walk into a beautiful dining room and are ready to be pampered, that feeling is somewhat taken down a notch when you look over and see someone in jeans. However, if you look over and see someone getting tipsy and having a great time, is your time effected depending on where they got their drink? The answer is no. Anyone agree with my take on it...or disagree for that mattter?

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The bottom line is that when you get all gussied up for a fancy night and walk into a beautiful dining room and are ready to be pampered, that feeling is somewhat taken down a notch when you look over and see someone in jeans. However, if you look over and see someone getting tipsy and having a great time, is your time effected depending on where they got their drink? The answer is no. Anyone agree with my take on it...or disagree for that mattter?

For me, I guess I just don't pay that much attention to what other people are wearing. I love to dress up for dinner every night on a cruise. When we first started cruised you were required to dress up. I really can't say, though, that I've ever been let down by anyone else's dress. On the cruises we've been on I've found that, with some exceptions, most people do try to dress up for dinner in the dining room. My philosophy when vacationing is that I don't stress about anything that is beyond my control, ie weather, other people's behaviour, dress etc.

 

We've never brought liquor on board on an RCCL cruise because as others have said, it can be bought in the gift shop and taken to your cabin so that works for me. We have taken it on Carnival because you can't buy it and take it to your room. We always take some beer and some caffeine free diet coke with us and we always end up buying drinks of the day and usually more beer on board. To each his own.

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On our last cruise we purchased 3 bottles in the duty free store the first night and were only charged a single $9.50 surcharge that covered all three bottles.

This is what I was expecting to do last week on the Rhapsody, but no dice! :( They were firm that the charge was PER BOTTLE! I bought one for the cabin and two to take home. I did buy a bottle in Cozumel and took it right onto the ship and up to the cabin! :) No questions asked ... of course this was almost the end of the cruise. What ship were you on, Stretch?

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This is what I was expecting to do last week on the Rhapsody, but no dice! :( They were firm that the charge was PER BOTTLE! I bought one for the cabin and two to take home. I did buy a bottle in Cozumel and took it right onto the ship and up to the cabin! :) No questions asked ... of course this was almost the end of the cruise. What ship were you on, Stretch?

We were on the Brilliance and it was the first night out. I don't know if this had a bearing on the surcharge or not but I assure you it's true. It kind of surprised me at the time but being one to not look a gift horse in the mouth, I didn't ask. Several others that we knew on board (Our Barcrawler group of 40) did the same thing. Maybe it was just the guy in the duty free store, maybe it was because it was the first night, maybe he was a Barcrawler Wannabe, who knows?? I'd still pay $19.00 for a liter of Tanguaray or Crown though, wouldn't you??

Stretch

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