Bringing wine on board in port

[Aus Traveller]

If the´rules´are not being enforced on the Dawn now that would be great, as we´re on Dawn next April for 4 weeks.

 

Please post your experience, Aus Traveller. When are you off?

 

Sandy in Spain

Our last cruise on the Dawn was 35 nights that ended on 18th May this year. Our next cruise is from 10th to 27th July.

 

I will check out the current 'rules' on taking wine onto Dawn Princess and report back.

[caribill]

Our last cruise on the Dawn was 35 nights that ended on 18th May this year. Our next cruise is from 10th to 27th July.

 

I will check out the current 'rules' on taking wine onto Dawn Princess and report back.

 

How will you check? If you ask on board, you may get the official word, but not the actual practice. Best way is check is to bring on a number of bottles yourself.

[Aus Traveller]

How will you check? If you ask on board, you may get the official word, but not the actual practice. Best way is check is to bring on a number of bottles yourself.

Exactly. I will go on our own experience and also whether friends of ours on the same cruise can take wine on board.:)

[star gazer]

The only time I have ever been questioned was by a Mexican security agent when bringing aboard a bottle vodka in Puerto Vallarta.

 

The Mexican agent took the bottle and tried to put it on a table behind him. I grabbed the bottle back and said, " I am extremely sorry, sir, but I am going to take that bottle to Princes Security, so I am sure that it will be returned at the end of the cruise. If you want to come with me to talk to the Princess staff you are certainly welcome to do so." He let me take the bottle by myself and the ship staff didn't say a word as I boarded with it in hand.

 

Poor guy lost his bottle. :p

 

I will frequently take a whole case of Perrier on board for a cruise longer than 7 days. I drink a lot of Perrier. When it is inconvenient to board a whole case, I always buy several bottles in every port.

 

On our last trip out of Los Angeles (San Pedro); a porter/longshoreman would not accept our bottled water with a luggage tag. He stated they had problems with spillage.

[lamchops]

We plan to take a case of red wine on board when we embark in Vancouver. One problem, haven't the faintest idea where to buy it - can anyone give me any help, we're staying on Robson Street. Thanks

 

Near Robson

http://www.mattersoftaste.com/store/94

 

Near canada Place

http://www.mattersoftaste.com/store/53

 

Will deliver free to hotel (this is Canada's version of Total Wine)

http://www.everythingwine.ca/index.cfm

 

Anywhere (private) else will cost more as the main stores are government run.

[paul929207]

On our Dawn cruises last September and October, there was no need to try it. It ws easy to see the table set up just past security and the people will booze being directed to the table. It was easy to hear the muttering and cursing from the people walking way from the table without their booze.

[caribill]

On our Dawn cruises last September and October, there was no need to try it. It ws easy to see the table set up just past security and the people will booze being directed to the table. It was easy to hear the muttering and cursing from the people walking way from the table without their booze.

 

Including those with just wine?

[love2cruisegal]

The best place to buy bargain wine in Manhattan is at Trader Joe's Wine Store at 142 East 14th. Take the subway to the 14th and Union station and then back to Burrough Hall in Brooklyn where you can catch a bus that takes you within a couple of blocks of the ship. We read lots of horror stories about taking the bus from the ship to the subway and then to Manhattan and back, but it was really a piece of cake. As long as you can walk a bit it is not a problem.

 

I don't remember the number of the bus, but I am sure you can figure it out. I believe it was B63, but double check that.

 

Check out their wine guide: http://www.traderjoes.com/guides/wine-guide.asp

 

Thanks for the info. We will be staying over the day before the cruise so we will already be in Manhattan, so taking the subway with all the luggage and trying to buy wine and then to the ship, will be too cumbersome. If we have time we could cab it to Trader Joe's since we're already in Manhattan. Apparently there's nothing near the ship. We'll think of something or maybe someone else has a suggestion.

[paul929207]

Including those with just wine?

Yes, including wine. On the Dawn last September, passengers were allowed to carry on one bottle of wine at embarkation (Sydney) and none at any other port.

[baldfatlimey]

Can anybody recommend a good wine shop in Sydney and am I still able to take a crate on board - and as I love NZ wine, will it be ok to take wine on from any vineyards we visit?

 

CAn anybody recommend a vineyard visit on the NZ trip please - it is our first visit to the new lands and we are really looking forward to it - it is a present to ourselves after paying for 2 daughters to get married this year!

 

Thanks in advance

:)

[paul929207]

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

 

The Princess policy is one bottle of wine per adult. However, they rarely enforce this limit. The one place I have seen it enforced was last September and October on the Dawn Princess sailing from Sydney

[JanetAlice]

Officially, you can not carry on beer or spirits. In practice, this rule is rarely enforced.

 

Very true. When we were in Scotland last year we brought two bottles of Scotch as gifts and they let us board without saying anything. I frankly hadn't even thought about their policy until after I was back in the cabin.

[paul929207]

Very true. When we were in Scotland last year we brought two bottles of Scotch as gifts and they let us board without saying anything. I frankly hadn't even thought about their policy until after I was back in the cabin.

We were in Oman in April and bought a bottle of scotch and of gin at the Duty Free shop. The security guy at the gangway noticed them and asked if we had liquor. I admitted it. He saidd we could only carry on wine as he pulled out the bottle of scotch. I said I wasn't carrying any wine could I carry the scotch and gin instead. He smiled and waved us and out alcohol thru.

[t60]

Can anybody recommend a good wine shop in Sydney and am I still able to take a crate on board - and as I love NZ wine, will it be ok to take wine on from any vineyards we visit?

snip

 

It seems that the Dawn can be (but not always) quite strict about enforcing the 1 bottle wine pp at embarkation port only, which makes the situation quite odd, when people have encountered problems and others have not. Please let us know how you get on in Novemeber as we´re on the Dawn in March next year

Sandy in Spain

[ggo85]

Last December on the Diamond, we purchased a bottle of wine on a ship's tour of a winery. We (and others) openly carried a bottle aboard, fully expecting it to be held for the duration of the cruise. We were pleasantly surprised when they let us through without incident. Others also carried a bottle through security without it being confiscated -- no one I saw had more than one bottle.

 

I thought Princess was trying to encourage people to buy wine on tour and thus would allow a reasonable amount (i.e., a bottle per person) without incident. Maybe it is just line policy.

 

I suggest that you ask about the policy on your ship before you purchase wine in port. At least you'll know "the rules.":)

[donaldsc]

If you bring 1 bottle each on board with you at embarkation, can you bring another bottle on board from a port?

 

Unless they have changed the rules in the last 2 years, you can bring as much wine on board as you wish when you embark. I know what the Princess FAQ says but have you read your cruise contract.

 

We have brought as much as 2 cases with us.

 

DON

[donaldsc]

Not if you're intent is to follow the rules...

 

From the Cruise Answer Book:

 

Alcohol Policy

 

As provided in the Passenger Contract, passengers agree not to bring alcoholic beverages of any kind on board for consumption, except one bottle of wine or champagne per person (no larger than 750 ml),

per voyage.

 

Lew

 

This may be what the Cruise Answer Book says but if you bother to read the actual contract, it states

 

"Passengers agree not to bring alcoholic beverages of any kind (except wine and champagne) on board for consumption.".

 

I do not see any limitation of the amount of wine or champagne that you can bring. When ever you see something in print, go back to the original source material.

 

DON

[Aus Traveller]

It seems that the Dawn can be (but not always) quite strict about enforcing the 1 bottle wine pp at embarkation port only, which makes the situation quite odd, when people have encountered problems and others have not. Please let us know how you get on in Novemeber as we´re on the Dawn in March next year

Sandy in Spain

I believe the restriction applying on the Dawn was a temporary situation (late last year and early this year). There were no restrictions on the Dawn in April and May (35 night cruise) this year. We are going on the Dawn on Tuesday and I will report back when we get home.

[Loonbeam]

Sigh. Here we go again. The contract does not state unlimited. The contract states in 12b you must abide by all policies. The limit is a policy. Therefore the contract allows the limit but not a ban.

 

Princess has chosen at this time to generally not enforce the policy. They may continue along that path, they may not.

 

Right now, unless you get someone overzealous (at least in the US) don't worry, but understand they have the option to do so at any time and passengers have no recourse.

 

Every time someone brings up the contract, I swear I have the urge to use a large trout as a bludgeoning device. Let me be very clear on this, there is NOTHING in the contract in the passenger's favor. The only ones more one-sided are the airlines.

 

This may be what the Cruise Answer Book says but if you bother to read the actual contract, it states

 

"Passengers agree not to bring alcoholic beverages of any kind (except wine and champagne) on board for consumption.".

 

I do not see any limitation of the amount of wine or champagne that you can bring. When ever you see something in print, go back to the original source material.

 

DON

[caribill]

Sigh. Here we go again. The contract does not state unlimited. The contract states in 12b you must abide by all policies. The limit is a policy. Therefore the contract allows the limit but not a ban.

 

 

So what you are saying is that every word in the contract (other than 12b) is meaningless as it all can be changed by issuing a policy statement.

[-Lew-]

 

This may be what the Cruise Answer Book says but if you bother to read the actual contract, it states

 

"Passengers agree not to bring alcoholic beverages of any kind (except wine and champagne) on board for consumption.".

 

I do not see any limitation of the amount of wine or champagne that you can bring. When ever you see something in print, go back to the original source material.

See section 12 of the Passage Contract below. It validates the statement you quote from the Cruise Answer Book.

 

 

So what you are saying is that every word in the contract (other than 12b) is meaningless as it all can be changed by issuing a policy statement.

No, but including a clause such as 12 keeps the Passage Contract manageable with respect to its size and doesn't require rewriting it every time a rule or regulation is updated.

 

IMHO the two statements below define Princess' alcohol policy. Have they been enforcing that policy...for the most part, no. However, it's there and they can begin enforcing it at anytime without prior notice if they so desire. Considering the rate at which Princess has been removing perks and benefits (the most recent being free Wi-Fi in suites), it wouldn't surprise me at all if they were to begin enforcing the alcohol policy.

 

Lew

 

 

 

[Loonbeam]

To a point yes. 12b can not override SPECIFIC language. (I.e. you have 75 days to pay or age 21 to drink, etc). But if there is no specific language, 12b comes in to play. And since there is no amount at all specifically in the alcohol clause, then 12b is valid.

 

This has come up multiple times, and just for fun I ran it independently past 4 lawyers, 1 general, 2 contract specialist, 1 maritime/international law specialist. All of them came up with the exact same reading, namely the contract as written does not prohibit Princess from limiting wine. However,they cannot BAN it under the current contract.

 

I should also point out that since non-alcoholic beverages do not seem to be mentioned at all, Princess is allowed by contract to ban them outright if they choose.

 

And again, this does not mean Princess IS or WILL start limiting. Simply that if they choose to do so, waving the contract around means nothing from a legal standpoint.

 

 

 

So what you are saying is that every word in the contract (other than 12b) is meaningless as it all can be changed by issuing a policy statement.

[fun_one]

We just got back from a 7 day sailing out of Seattle to Alaska on the Golden and they didn't seem to be checking how much you brought on originally at embarkation and/or at ports but we stuck to the 1 bottle per person rule and had no issues. It worked out fine for us - especially since there are no wine packages on the cruises for less than 10 days. They had a great wine list though so we were happy about that. RCCL has a package deal but the wines aren't that good and you don't save much money by doing the package.

 

My 2 cents.

Barbara

[baldfatlimey]

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

 

The Princess policy is one bottle of wine per adult. However, they rarely enforce this limit. The one place I have seen it enforced was last September and October on the Dawn Princess sailing from Sydney

Thank you for the welcome - this will be our 2nd cruise, having done the inner passage of Alaska last year and had a great time. We boarded in San Fran with 4 bottles - having been to Napa and we had no problems, but this thread seems to indicate there may be an issue.

[baldfatlimey]

I believe the restriction applying on the Dawn was a temporary situation (late last year and early this year). There were no restrictions on the Dawn in April and May (35 night cruise) this year. We are going on the Dawn on Tuesday and I will report back when we get home.

Have a great cruise - where are you going? My wife is now getting concerned that the sea will be rough - in November - between Sydney and New Zealand. Is that likely do you know?

 

Any way - enjoy :-)