MsValentine

I understand your motivation to inform passengers about some conflicting information provided by Princess. :)

https://book.princess.com/html/personalizer/downloads/pdf/Safety_Information.pdf

Thank you! The thing is, I keep seeing people (especially inexperienced cruisers like me) ask questions and be given answers that contradict each other, or are along the lines of "When I took a cruise 2 years ago, I took..." which may be irrelevant due to policy change, or may have even been a different cruise line. And seems some policies are enforced differently depending on Princess personnel you encounter, or other circmstance. Thinking the thing to do was get some of my own answers directly from Princess, I went to their website. But that wasn't as much help as I had hoped. Ah well, may forget about taking anything that might even remotely be a problem and just go with the flow. It's not like I HAVE TO take that case of expensive wines I wanted to have on board... :)

That verbiage concerning water and soda was removed shortly after it was added. In addition the verbiage was never added to the Passage Contract. See current alcohol policy on page 20 of the current version of the online Cruise Answer Book below:

https://book.princess.com/images/cc/brochure/downloads/Princess_Cruise_Answer_Book.pdf

That link goes to a pdf which at the bottom says

Contents are accurate as of 10/15/15 and are subject to change.

Please refer to princess.com for updated information.

My original quote was from the "Answer Book" that I found a link to on the website today. I just searched again and also found the link to the 10/15/15 version on the Brochures page of the website. Odd that they'd have links to 2 different versions, but they do. No idea if anything has changed since 10/15/15.

In any case, my intention was never to tell anyone what they can or cannot do, or what Princess will or will not permit. Just sharing what it said on the Princess.com site that I was at today. I did send them an email asking for clarification. I personally do not intend to carry water or soda onto the ship, and I really don't care what anyone else chooses to do, just saddened by the idea that other newbies are being told it's fine to do if in fact it MAY NOT be. Same issue with surge protectors, hair dryers, fans etc (some say you can take them, others say they've been confiscated).

Bottom line may be, if it's important to someone to take something on the ship, maybe they should ask the cruise line to be sure.

Why would you consider this to be a surprise?

.

Oh, I am not surprised, but others may be. Nor am I complaining. Just thought I'd share it for others who haven't read all the fine print. ;)

Ah, this is what I was looking for when I found the bit about the cruise line reserving the right to search you.

Repeatedly on this site and on others I've seen people say that you can take bottled water and soft drinks onto Princess ships. It took some digging, but finally found where I had read that is NOT the policy. Maybe this changed recently as so many people insist they have, and you can, but this is in the Princess "Cruise Answer Book" as of today. See next to last line. (I bolded it here). I'm not complaining, since I would not personally want to carry cases of beverages (well, except wine), but I'd hates to see my fellow travelers go to all the trouble of carrying cases of water or soda only to have them rejected.

https://book.princess.com/…/down…/pdf/Cruise_Answer_Book.pdf:

"Alcohol Policy

As provided in the Passage Contract, guests agree

not to bring alcoholic beverages of any kind onboard for

consumption, except one bottle of wine or champagne per

adult of drinking age (no larger than 750 ml) per voyage,

which will not be subject to a corkage fee if consumed in

your stateroom. Additional wine or champagne bottles are

welcome, but will incur a $15 corkage fee each, irrespective

of where they are intended to be consumed. Liquor, spirits,

beer, bottled water and canned or bottled soda are not

permitted. Please remember that luggage will be scanned and

alcohol or any beverages outside of our policy will be removed

and discarded."

In re-reading the Princess Passage Contract

(https://book.princess.com/cruisepersonalizer/documents.page)

the following caught my eye. This might be of concern for those who are thinking of concealing alcohol or other no-nos on their cruise:

" 13. BAGGAGE AND PERSONAL EFFECTS, LIABILITY LIMITATIONS, INSPECTION.

You agree Carrier has, at all times with or without notice, the right to enter and search Your stateroom, personal safe or storage spaces, or to search You, Your baggage and/or personal effects at any location."

In visiting these boards and other sources for tips prior to first cruise I've seen so many ideas, so starting keeping a tote bag for possible things to take. Been tossing things in as I read what sounds like great ideas at the time -- magnets, hooks, clothes pins, mini-sewing kit, highlighter, flashlight, small umbrella, etc. So far the tote bag weighs several pounds! Yep, think some items may not be included in my luggage. But I REALLY DO APPRECIATE all the ideas. Thank you all for sharing.

My own idea is to take a couple of scented perfume sample cards from magazines (sealed in ziplock baggie of course) to use as "air freshener" in bathroom or dirty clothes hamper -- free, light, disposable.

I'll be on the Ruby Princess soon. Many friends are frequent cruises and they've assured me there are wine glasses to be had, either in cabin or ask steward. One friend suggested for best quality wine glass (good stemware), buy a glass of wine in the wine bar and stroll out with it, returning it to that bar later, of course! Another said no, the bar will not let you walk out, will instead offer to pour it into a standard wine glass. So! We'll see. I do prefer drinking out of a good Riedel or similar stemmed wine glass.

Check out this thread to give you an idea of the cost of drinks and if the AIBP would make sense for you.

Princess Beverage Package Evaluator

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2038576

 

If you only drink wine then one of the wine packages may make more sense. Discounts are significantly less than the 40% but you aren't paying more than $56 to get the discount.

There's a WINE package? I saw several for beer, soft drinks etc on the Princess site, but not that were wine only. Assuming they have a decent wine list, that might suit my needs. :)

Thank you. Glad to see there are some drinkable wines on board!

Thank you so much for taking the time to share all those photos and the info. I'll be on the Ruby in October. Forgive me asking if it was included, but I didn't see it: Wine List? Trying to figure out if it's worth corkage fees and hassle of carrying bottles to take my own wine on board (very good wines, some expensive) if choices are uninspiring on the ship.

The way I look at it, the balcony cabin is about $3000, regardless of one person or two. I don't fee gouged about it being $1500 x 2 because I want the cabin to myself. Yes, one person doesn't eat as much as two, but I presume the ship makes a lot of money selling alcohol, and while I drink quite a lot, not as much as two people. Also their other added charges -- specialty dining, coffees, boutique purchases, etc -- make more money for the ship from two people.