Bringing Whisky on a ship as souvenir

We are going on a cruise to Scotland. So am wondering, if it is possible to bring a bottle of Whisky onto to the ship as a souvenir (bring back home, not drink on the ship) legally, as we will be visiting a distillery.

They will check in the bottle for you when you return on the ship and you will receive it again at dembarkation

Yes you can bring back alcohol but the ship's security will most likely tell you to turn it in to a bar staff person at a nearby desk and your bottles will be held it until the last night of your cruise at which time it will be delivered to your cabin by your cabin attendent.

A few times for us this hasn't happen if the alcohol is in a backpack or beach bag but we never consume onboard but simply store it in our cabin to take home.

Thanks for the info. Don't feel so bad anymore, wanting to bring a bottle on board.

Just remember airline restrictions if you are flying back home after your cruise. It would have to go into your checked baggage and that is always a risk that it will get smashed in transit. Just saying, it might make for quite a mess in your suitcase.

Just remember airline restrictions if you are flying back home after your cruise. It would have to go into your checked baggage and that is always a risk that it will get smashed in transit. Just saying, it might make for quite a mess in your suitcase.

That is why the ship staff now return the alcohol on the last evening to allow you to pack it in your suitcase that are to be put out for unloading by the crew

We always wrap our in suitcase bottles with a beach towel or heavy clothing and place it in a plastic bag that is sealed. A ship's plastic laundry bag knotted at the open end work well for this. Then we pack each one only in the middle of the suitcase surrounded by other clothing.

The above has work well for our 56 previous cruises and other out of Canada vacations as we've never have had a broken bottle or even a leaking one. To prevent the latter make the bottle cap is well tighten.

Last cruise we returned with two 1.14L bottles of Bacardi PR white rum I got at Port Zante on St. Kitts for $9US each which would have cost over the equivalence of $32US at an Ontario liquor store.

Is shipping it a option. Because the ship will hold it for you. But flying back home maybe the biggest hurdle. Wrap that bottle up with bubble wrap and slap a post mark on it. Best of luck and enjoy your cruise. Happy Sailing!!!!

Thanks to all for your suggestions. Yes, flying will need some more thoughts, but I assume with these ideas, we should be able to bring in a whole bottle and not in pieces.

Thanks to all for your suggestions. Yes, flying will need some more thoughts, but I assume with these ideas, we should be able to bring in a whole bottle and not in pieces.

The distillery may well have options available to ship directly for you. I would check with them regarding this during your visit. Might be worth consideration.

Just remember airline restrictions if you are flying back home after your cruise. It would have to go into your checked baggage and that is always a risk that it will get smashed in transit. Just saying, it might make for quite a mess in your suitcase.

Whiskey bottles are usually very strong, and when filled with whiskey almost impossible t break unless you throw it against metal, or concrete, extremely hard. Wrapped in a towel, it's not going to break easy. I would cry over the broken bottle before I cry over my dirty clothes that had a party with my whiskey.

I buy alcohol all the time on European cruises so it is perfectly ok. They may intercept the bottles when your board the ship, in which case you have to go and collect them on the last evening.

I have done the Scotland itinerary and sampling whiskey is a big part of it. I did buy the odd full size bottle but most were sample sizes. Many single malts you should be able to buy at home so if shipping or taking on plane is an issue, I would look at what you can purchase back home. It then makes sense to only buy small obscure brands not exported abroad.

Note that there are regional variations so don't buy all your whiskey in one place. The whiskey experience in Edinburgh is worth visiting. You get to try a couple of samples and get to learn a lot about regional variations.

Best tip for packing in suitcase is bubblewrap so you could pack some along with tape. Be prepared for airport security to open your suitcase to check but that is a minor inconvenience.

The distillery may well have options available to ship directly for you. I would check with them regarding this during your visit. Might be worth consideration.

We traveled to the Caribbean in January and brought back rum as a souvenir. Different cruise line however they just checked it and placed it in our stateroom on the last day.

From the Royal Caribbean FAQ: "Additional bottles of wine beyond two (2) bottles that are brought onboard or any alcoholic beverages purchased in ports of call or from Shops On Board will be stored by the ship and delivered to your stateroom on the last day of the sailing."

You do have to check the bag for airline flying. No large liquid bottles in carry on luggage. We brought a large Ziploc bag for just such a purpose.

One thing we did not think about before hand is the weight. A 750ml bottle can be quite heavy. It will also take up room in your luggage.

Think about the added weight and room needed. If your luggage is close to the weight limit (or strength limit of the bag) already you may have a problem.

Also, the luggage cabins in aircraft can get quite cold. The alcohol will probably keep it from freezing however not sure it would do the flavor any good.

If shipping from the distillery is available at a reasonable cost it may be a good idea.

There are a number of products available specifically for this purpose. I did a quick search and found Wine Mummy and Wine Diaper. I have never used them so I cannot vouch for them but they are an option. I assume the methods described above (large Ziploc or other sealed plastic bag wrapped in a towel, sweater or other clothing) work just as effectively.

On my last cruise the 2 bottles we bought showed up at 6 p.m. the night before disembarkation so we could pack them if need be. Since we carried everything on and off it wasn’t necessary but as noted above you will be able to get them in your checked bags before you put them out for pickup. Enjoy your trip.

They will check in the bottle for you when you return on the ship and you will receive it again at dembarkation

That's the theory anyway. I've only done it twice in 15 cruises. Both times I had to ask for it. I think it iwas Freedom in 2015 I bought some bananna rum in Fallmouth and they couldn't find it anywhere. It delayed our departure a short time, but they found it on the final morning. Coincidentally? the guy checking it on the ship joked he was keeping that one for himself.