Bringing Drinks on Board - any update?

I have mined a previous thread (http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2196909&highlight=drinks) that went quiet back in May but as far as I can tell the policy is as follows:

1) There is no written policy, but Viking Star operates to the following rules.

2) You can bring soft drinks and water on board without a problem

3) You can bring alcohol on board after a port visit, as long as the strength is not greater than 15%, else it will be confiscated a returned to you at the end of the cruise. If you bring wine on board they are happy for you to bring this to the restaurant for your (and others) consumption. I assume that they are happy that this is consumed in cabins but not in other public areas.

4) They do not check bags for alchohol at the point of original embarkation, so if you would like to bring a particular spirit on board to consume in your cabin then they would not have a problem with that either.

If anybody who has been on VS recently can confirm that this is still the approach then that would be appreciated.

Neil

When we were on VR Grand European Tour not only did Viking greet us in our room with a bottle of champagne but I don't recall any case where Viking drew inspected what we brought back from each port visit. I got the feeling that they expected us to purchase wine esp when we were in Melk. When it came time to drink the wine we bought and the champagne they provided, everything we needed to do so was in the cabin - glasses and corkscrew. Can't imagine VO would do any less. (Well maybe not the champagne; that was based on our cabin class).

Wine or beer with lunch and dinner (included) and drinks at the bar are much cheaper than on any other cruise we have taken.

Neil - as a comment on your item #3 - there was only one port on the 50-day Maiden Cruise that we heard about the % content being a problem and that was in Ephesus. The port authorities made us all go through a scanner in the cruise terminal there and inspe c Ted bags. During that process one or more passengers were stopped with alcohol being over the % allowed and it was confiscated (so was my husband's Swiss Army knife). This was the Turkish port authorities however; not Viking. To my knowledge, there were no other ports where the % of alcohol was an issue and I was pretty wired into events on the Star as there were a lot of CC folks on the ship and a lot of 50-dayers for that Maiden Cruise. It would be interesting to know if anyone had a problem outside of Ephesus and maybe Istanbul, although I know of some folks who brought spirits onboard in Istanbul. I think it might be a Turkish regulation rather than a Viking one.

Neil - as a comment on your item #3 - there was only one port on the 50-day Maiden Cruise that we heard about the % content being a problem and that was in Ephesus. The port authorities made us all go through a scanner in the cruise terminal there and inspe c Ted bags. During that process one or more passengers were stopped with alcohol being over the % allowed and it was confiscated (so was my husband's Swiss Army knife). This was the Turkish port authorities however; not Viking. To my knowledge, there were no other ports where the % of alcohol was an issue and I was pretty wired into events on the Star as there were a lot of CC folks on the ship and a lot of 50-dayers for that Maiden Cruise. It would be interesting to know if anyone had a problem outside of Ephesus and maybe Istanbul, although I know of some folks who brought spirits onboard in Istanbul. I think it might be a Turkish regulation rather than a Viking one.

Your observation about Turkish authorities certainly makes sense. After I posted my note I got to thinking that the Grand European Tour was completely within the EU whereas VO ports of call include many that are not in the EU. Such as Turkey.

Thank you all for your comments, it looks as if I will be safe bringing a bottle of my favourite Gin on board in Venice so I can have a G&T whilst getting ready for dinner!

Neil

Yesterday We made a reservation for a cruise in 4/2017 and the agent told us that there was no problem bringing our own liquor aboard...he offered this information before I even asked.

Neil, I don't suppose you won't be buying that gin immediately pre-cruise. However, your question reminded me that there is a post in the "Ports of Call" section of Cruise Critic which addresses the purchase of alcohol and other things near the port of Venice. There's a Coop store near Piazalle Roma, where the "People Mover" to the port is located. I'm not sure if it has anything alcoholic other than beer or wine (which of course Viking provides, making it of limited use to Viking cruisers), but I just thought I'd mention it. If a cruiser forgets an essential item, or is embarking on a cruise ship that doesn't provide complimentary beer and wine, it's pretty handy - about a 15 minute ride/walk from the port. Of course, we board on a Sunday - not sure if it's even open then!

Ruth

I am landing in Rome three days prior and taking the Viking Italian Cities pre-cruise extension visiting Rome, Florence, Bologna and Verona, so its either a duty free bottle of Hendricks Gin when I leave London Heathrow or a bottle I pick up on the way through Italy. As I am with Viking all the way I am assuming that I will get dropped off next to the Viking Star and my luggage will magically appear in my room without any hassle, so hopefully no need to visit the local co-op, but thanks for the reminder.

Still not sure whether I will go off exploring Venice after embarkation but may chose to chill onboard Viking Star after a few hectic days touring Italy and save Venice for another trip I am planning next year.

Neil

Those three days sound pretty busy (and wonderful). I bet you'll be relaxing in Venice!

Ruth

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Nothing to add here.

I just misread the thread title as BINGING Drinks on Board. I thought - interesting, if a little unexpected for the Viking demographic.

I have mined a previous thread (http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2196909&highlight=drinks) that went quiet back in May but as far as I can tell the policy is as follows:

 

1) There is no written policy, but Viking Star operates to the following rules.

2) You can bring soft drinks and water on board without a problem

3) You can bring alcohol on board after a port visit, as long as the strength is not greater than 15%, else it will be confiscated a returned to you at the end of the cruise. If you bring wine on board they are happy for you to bring this to the restaurant for your (and others) consumption. I assume that they are happy that this is consumed in cabins but not in other public areas.

4) They do not check bags for alchohol at the point of original embarkation, so if you would like to bring a particular spirit on board to consume in your cabin then they would not have a problem with that either.

 

If anybody who has been on VS recently can confirm that this is still the approach then that would be appreciated.

 

Neil

We saw no inspections or concerns about bringing bottle aboard, but we only brought on wine. Drinks at bars are CHEAP!!! You can carry your glass anywhere. We too our minibar drinks to sundeck, etc. because we had a daily (limited) supply there for free. BTW, the bottle of free champagne provided in some stateroom categories in not bad stuff. We expected poor, and were very pleasantly surprised. But then, we are not total wine snobs. It certainly was better than anything we've ever gotten in a U.S. hotel!