Purchase Liquor on Board

Forgive me for asking this because I know it has been discussed before. What is the process for purchasing liquor on board to take to cabin? On Princess and HAL we have to order it prior to cruise as a "gift" to us!!! I think it may be different on RCCL. We are doing the family reunion thing :) in about 8 cabins for Thanksgiving on the Radiance and I need to figure this out. Most are travelling from NY and we are here, so alcohol is my job. Of course, after getting through Frances I may just keep it all for myself!!

well just get yourself a safeway shopping cart go to store on boat

(first night only)and ask lady in store to fill it up and add ice then use your seapass card,then roll it to room and your done walla:)))))))

as soon as the ship leaves port the shops open. liquor costs about half of what it does locally. to bring it back to your room, a $9 tipping fee is added, which brings the price right back up to local prices. so buying on board saves you the extra carry-on bother. people have mentioned that the $9 is applied to your whole order the first night and per bottle thereafter, but i haven't experienced that, as i only buy one bottle at a time. if you are buying in quantity, the first night may be the way to go.

sly

Just returned from the Mariner a few weeks ago -- I asked the clerk if the $9 consumption fee applied to all bottles or if it is per bottle on the first night. He said it's still per bottle, and RCCL has never offered a first night special that he knows of. He actually laughed when I asked him. Soooo, the only real benefit of buying on board is avoiding packing it and risking breakage. (Which is good enough reason for me!) :)

Have fun!!!

Was on Jewel of the Seas Aug 20 sailing from Harwich. First night we go to duty free shop and proceed to cashier with a bottle of Kahlua ($12.95) and Bacardi O rum ($11.95). Pay for our purchases and ask how much extra to take bottles away right now, he says, well, as we are still a new ship we aren't doing the consumption fee per bottle thing just yet so go you can take them now, no problem!! I don't think a lot of people on our sailing realized that. Didn't try and buy anything after first night so don't know if next staff member on duty had the same policy but hey, works for me!;)

I tried the "first night thing" while on the Mariner in April. No way.... it was $9.00 per bottle and it didn't matter what night it was! I still will continue to purchase on board since I do feel it is less than what I pay at home.

On Navigator in January, it was $9.00 per order the first night out, then $9.00 per bottle each night thereafter. Funny that it's not consistant.

On the Adventure in January, 2004 there was no fee to take the liquor back to the cabin on the first night. I hope the same will apply on Jewel in November.

This does seem to be a policy that is different on every ship. When we were on Voyager in Feb we bought 2 bottles the first night for 1 fee. I hope this helps!

Traveling on the Jewel in Nov. Anyone know if Dewers Scotch is a brand they carry?

On the Legend in August it was $9.50 per bottle (I bought two). I think this is the policy, just inconsistently enforced. For those that want the detail, it was $20 for two bottles of Absolute so $39 total. Each bottle was a full liter not 750ml.

We just got off the Serenade 9/12 sailing and the standard labels all had the $9.00 per bottle tacked on to take to your room... but the finer high end labels had no charge added. So drink the best and save the $9.00! :D

Kevin

Can you purchase wine and champagne in the duty-free shop? And does the $9 fee apply to these bottles as well?

The $9 corkage does not apply to bottles over a certain value. When we did the Brilliance in February it was anything over $35. So we bought a $36 bottle of Tequila that goes for $65-70 at home and were quite happy.

And yes, as I remember they do stock Dewars.

Can you purchase wine and champagne in the duty-free shop? And does the $9 fee apply to these bottles as well?

Nope - no wine or champagne is sold in the duty-free shops

Can you bring wine on board in carryon luggage? Read somewhere it

wasn't allowed.

Bonnie

RCL's stated policy is what it is, but my experience is that they do not sweat wine or champagne. We have never had a problem. But, I also believe the people checking carry on bags carefully gauge those who bring their own bottles aboard. From what I've have personally seen, the young and rowdy crowd do not stand a chance of brining any alcohol on the ship. Those who have obviously had a few before boarding also do not stand a chance of bringing anything on the ship either.

As for harder liquor you wish to consume in your cabin, it is far better to make your purchase at the ship's General Store. They charge an additional $9.00 for what is purchased for in cabin consumption. This brings the price up to what you might pay at home in the first place, so no need to pack any bottles in your luggage. Plus, you do not have to worry about anything leaking or breaking in your bags by hard tossing luggage handlers or taxi drivers.

In the end, I find RCL's policy to be sophisticated. On RCL's large newer ships, many folks prefer to chill out in their cabin and unwind on their balconies from time to time with their own concoctions. In my family's experience, we do not remember any of our fellow RCL cruisers fall over drunk or wild in the hallways. Those in the bar areas go to socialize and buy a couple of specialty drinks. It is a very different atmosphere from Carnival, which does not allow onboard purhases from their liquor store for in cabin consumption, but caters to a serious bar crowd.

I hope you all kick back and have a great cruise!

We were also on the Jewel 8/20.We bought a couple bottles the 1st night and figured we would pay the corkage fee and it would still be a good deal.The clerk told us no fee and as far as he knew it would continue for he entire cruise.Have no idea why but why question it....we did pick up another bottle toward the end of the cruise and again,no corkage fee

I called RCI today and asked about the policy for the Legend. She asked where I was sailing from (San Diego). She told me I could bring one bottle of wine or Champagne per person. There would be a $9 charge if consumed in the dining area but none if consumed in the room. I think the policy is different for wine on each sailing.

The $9 corkage does not apply to bottles over a certain value. When we did the Brilliance in February it was anything over $35. So we bought a $36 bottle of Tequila that goes for $65-70 at home and were quite happy.

 

And yes, as I remember they do stock Dewars.

Carol

We found this out when we paid. Now this was an 11-night cruise to the Panama and we were prepared to buy a bottle with the $9 corkage fee, so it was a pleasant surprise. I don't know if this was because of the length of trip, the specific ship or what. Seems to me there are a lot of things done differently on different ships so you never know what you're going to get....

During our Med sailing on Splendour of the Sea on first day we only had to pay one fee (9.50) for 2 bottles of vodka...and the same for Kahlua...

We don't drink flavoured Smirnoff (orange, strawberry etc) but I think they had 1 fee for 4 bottles(each bottle was only $6) for these.

You can order wine from room service. On Radiance, the list in the room was very limited, but you could order anything from the main dining room list, which you can pull up on RCTV to get an idea of what they have & how much it costs. The catch was that they didn't open that cellar until 6:30, so if you're going to want an afternoon nip, order the night before. Also look into the wine & dine package (which we used in the main dining room & room service, can also use in Chops & Portofino), which was $155 plus 15% for 7 bottles. Any bottle under $35 qualified, and there were some very nice choices.

The wines are pretty pricey (3x+ retail for us Californians), but lugging a bunch of bottles on board just didn't appeal this time.

I just searched out this thread. I posted this just before Hurricane Jeanne and never got to see the responses. Didn't get internet back until end of October. Thanks for your answers. One thing about 2 hurricanes..the time until the cruises passes very quickly!