Alcohol now being destroyed

[NSWP]

Could not have said it better. This is just one of many examples where there has been a communication failure!

I agree, a stuff up, wine/alcohol enforcement appears to vary from ship to ship. If the Princess Alcohol Police are confused, what chance have we?

 

BTW, we in Australia include 'wine' in the term 'alcohol' (not just spirits, scotch, gin etc.)

Just said that to clarify things for our North American friends.

[IECalCruiser]

BTW, we in Australia include 'wine' in the term 'alcohol' (not just spirits, scotch, gin etc.)

Just said that to clarify things for our North American friends.

It is the same here. It is just that Princess allows wine to be brought on board but not other alcohol. From the current Passage Contract:

 

“Passengers agree not to bring alcoholic beverages of any kind on board for consumption except one bottle of wine or champagne ..."

[bdjam]

We must be reading different contracts. I've read the entire thing..that was dated in September 2012, long before this current policy first came to light in January 2013. It states you will pay $15 for consuming a bottle in a public space, nothing about paying $15 for any bottle in excess of the one bottle limit. It also talkes about you agree to not bring on more than one bottle of wine or champagne per person for consumption anywhere. It's an old contract that hasn't been updated.

You're right - different contracts - I was quoting from the one online that is attached to my upcoming cruise.

At this point it would appear that Princess is in a state of utter confusion and miscommunication. The contracts say one thing, the luggage tags say another, the website says something else entirely, and the senior spokespeople say something totally different.

 

Then, to add to the confusion, the staff at the points of embarkation do whatever they want, really not conforming to any of the official directives.

 

Princess really does need to get it's act together and communicate clearly to passengers and staff alike before proceeding any further with their new policies.

Wait...what?

 

Can you point to where the contract, luggage tags and websites say different things? I'm looking at them all for my May cruise and they all state the same alcohol policy. As for the senior spokesperson, she mis-stated the overall policy, but obviously from the original post on this thread, the policy is being carried out per the contract and not per what she said. If the policy is not being enforced at all embarkations, it soon will be and if passengers are getting away with breaching the policy then they're lucky...this time.

 

At this point I think Princess has done what it needs to do to communicate the alcohol policy quite clearly - if people don't get it, that's not the problem of the cruise line.

[luv-my-kids]

Just back home today from the March 30th Princess Sapphire California Coastal cruise. We boarded with 3 bottles of our favorite wine and a case of Traders Joe's organic beer. The beer was in the box it came in and was carried on in a paper Trader Joe's bag (we were not trying to hide it at all, we thought if they take it from us we will just be out $18.00.)

 

The wine was in my carry on bag. I kept waiting for someone to charge me a corkage fee which I would be fine with. We carried a glass of wine to dinner with us every night to the main dining room expecting a corkage fee. The last night of the cruise I checked my account and was never charged any fee. Princess did not lose any money from us, we played in the casino and made other on board purchases. I will be posting a full review in the next day or two.

[IECalCruiser]

Some people appear to have misinterpreted one or more of my recent posts. The intent was to show the contradiction of various sources of information provided by Princess and the confusion that it might create. We just hope that Princess determines exactly what the new policy will be AND then ensure that all personnel on all ships enforce the policy the same way.

 

Regarding alcoholic beverages brought on at embarkation and intended for consumption on board.

 

As reported by Cruise Critic, Princess Cruises' Vice President of Public Relations Julie Benson is quoted saying:

"Passengers are allowed one bottle of wine or champagne (champagne is NOT [Princess' emphasis] being confiscated as alleged) for free, and then they can bring on as many bottles of wine or champagne as they would like for a $15 per bottle corkage fee."

The luggage tags for our upcoming cruise states:

“• One 750ml bottle of wine or champagne per adult per voyage, which will not be subject to a corkage fee if consumed in the stateroom.”

“• Additional wine or champagne bottles are welcome, but will incur a $15 corkage fee per bottle,

irrespective of where they are intended to be consumed.”

“• Other liquors, spirits or beers are prohibited. Luggage is subject to search.”

The latest version of the Passage Contract from our upcoming cruise states:

“Passengers agree not to bring alcoholic beverages of any kind on board for consumption

except one bottle of wine or champagne per person of drinking age

(no larger than 750ml)

per voyage

only in his/her carry-on luggage. A corkage fee of $15.00 U.S.D. per bottle (which is subject to change without notice) will be applied to wine or champagne brought aboard by You and consumed in the ship’s public areas.

"

Without a change in the Passage Contract, staff on any ship are well within their rights to allow only one bottle of wine on board per adult at embarkation no later what other documentation or Princess employees state.

 

Regarding alcoholic beverages purchased duty from the ship’s gift shop, or at ports of call.

 

As reported by Cruise Critic, Princess Cruises' Vice President of Public Relations Julie Benson is quoted saying:

“Other alcohol is not allowed to be brought onboard and will be confiscated. It won't be returned because the logistics of storing the contraband, then returning it to passengers is too challenging, she added.”

The latest version of the Passage Contract from our upcoming cruise states:

“You agree to surrender alcoholic beverages that are purchased duty from the ship’s gift shop,

or at ports of call

, to Carrier, which will be delivered to Your stateroom on the last night of the voyage."

Ms. Benson’s statement contradicts the provisions of the Passage Contract and practice that I have seen on Princess ships where alcohol has been collected at ports and returned.

 

[IECalCruiser]

Just back home today from the March 30th Princess Sapphire California Coastal cruise. We boarded with 3 bottles of our favorite wine and a case of Traders Joe's organic beer. The beer was in the box it came in and was carried on in a paper Trader Joe's bag (we were not trying to hide it at all, we thought if they take it from us we will just be out $18.00.)

 

The wine was in my carry on bag. I kept waiting for someone to charge me a corkage fee which I would be fine with. We carried a glass of wine to dinner with us every night to the main dining room expecting a corkage fee. The last night of the cruise I checked my account and was never charged any fee. Princess did not lose any money from us, we played in the casino and made other on board purchases. I will be posting a full review in the next day or two.

Thanks for the update. It appears that the March 27th enforcement was a trial run and Princess may be evaluating the results. It would just be nice if Princess would let people know before they conduct their next trial and/or permanent enforcement of the new policy.

[Colo Cruiser]

Thanks for the update. It appears that the September 27th enforcement was a trial run and Princess may be evaluating the results. It would just be nice if Princess would let people know before they conduct their next trial and/or permanent enforcement of the new policy.

 

 

September 27th?

What happened then?

[IECalCruiser]

September 27th?

What happened then?

Thanks for catching my typo. Corrected to March 27th.

[esmo]

So, the question I have either not seen an answer to (or missed in the 38 pages), is...can I bring wine on at ports and pay the $15 corkage?

[BoPippy]

FYI:

 

Boarded the Emerald Princess with my beer,wine in my backpack like i have done for 23 years and not a word said.Thru scanner,grab bag and off i went.So busy today,i don't think they were realling looking,but they must have been.they were looking thu scanners,but stopping noone.So all this talk is the same ol same ol!!!:D

[PunkiC]

They are currently saying YES! There was a time not long ago when they were saying NO, but I think they are working their way through this quagmire.

 

It is amazing how much response a single post from a single passenger whose liquor was destroyed on the Golden has generated. I believe that ship (a round trip San Pedro to Hawaii) will return on the 10th. I am very curious to see what kind of feedback we will get from other passengers--both those disembarking from the March 27 cruise and those embarking on the 10th.

 

Princess has certainly learned that her passengers really do care about their wine. :)

[GHDPeter]

Yes Esmo, here is the email from Princess I received

 

 

From: customerrelations@princesscruises.com

Subject: Re: PRINCESS WINE POLICY CLARIFICATION PLEASE

Date: 8 March 2013 8:36:58 AM AEST

To:peter@

 

Thank you for your email regarding our wine policy.

 

The policy remains the same in terms of passengers being permitted to bring one bottle of wine or champagne

onboard per adult per voyage. If this bottle is opened in a public area (such as the dining room) a $15 corkage

fee will apply, however if the bottle is consumed in the privacy of the passenger's stateroom, no corkage will apply.

What has changed is that we recognize some of our passengers have preferences for particular wines or champagnes

and we will now be allowing passengers to bring additional bottles of wine or champagne onboard our vessels at

embarkation. Each bottle in excess of the one bottle per voyage per adult will receive a $15 corkage fee irrespective

of where this will be consumed. Princess will begin monitoring and enforcing the above policy in the coming weeks

and months as we introduce this new policy.

 

We recognize that purchasing wine or champagne ashore can be an enjoyable aspect of shopping and exploring our

ports of call. Passengers are able to bring onboard 750ml bottles of wine or champagne, however anything above and

beyond the one bottle per adult per voyage will incur a corkage fee of $15 per bottle - regardless of where consumed.

 

We appreciate our customers constructive feedback and of course will forward your concerns to our Food and Beverage

Department.

 

Sincerely,

 

Princess Cruises

Customer Relations Specialist

customerrelations@princesscruises.com

[caribill]

From the current Passage Contract:

 

“Passengers agree not to bring alcoholic beverages of any kind on board for consumption except one bottle of wine or champagne ..."

 

The problem is when a passenger wants to bring alcohol on board, but not for consumption on board, just to bring home.

[GHDPeter]

Looks like the terms and conditions for US pax is different to the conditions for AU pax

 

Its really hard to find a copy of the T & C for the US when you are in Australia, Princess website blocks access to US content.

 

In Australia the Contract states

On the day of embarkation, passengers over the minimum age may bring onboard one bottle of wine or champagne per person to celebrate (no larger than 750ml). Consumption of personal wine or champagne is limited to your stateroom. Any other alcohol purchased ashore will be collected at the gangway for safe keeping and will be returned to you on the last day of your cruise.

 

So no matter where or when we bring Alcohol outside of the allowed wine, they have agreed to collect it at the gangway for safe keeping and return it at the end of the cruise.

princess_t&c_au_nz.pdf

Passage_Contract.pdf

[caribill]

Its really hard to find a copy of the T & C for the US when you are in Australia, Princess website blocks access to US content.

 

 

Are your thumbnails from the same document?

 

The first one says passengers can drink and gamble if they are at least 18 yearsw old.

 

The second one says 21 years old.

[GHDPeter]

The first one is from the Australian Passage Contract and the 2nd one is from the US Passage Contract.

 

In Australia we can drink and gamble at 18 yrs of Age.

 

We can not book Princess Cruises through Princess USA or through any Travel Agent in the US if we did not do so before 2010. Princess Cruises Geoblocks us from being able to access the Princess website in the US. The only time we can access the content of the US Princess site is when we are on a Princess Ship and using the free website access.

 

On the above post the pdf attachments are the full documents for Australia and the USA.

princess_t&c_AU_NZ.pdf is the Australian Contract

Passage_Contract.pdf is the US Contract

[Cruise Junky]

You're right - different contracts - I was quoting from the one online that is attached to my upcoming cruise.

 

[font="Comic Sans MS"

]

 

that's even more bizarre, I was reading the one attached to my cruise to. Dated September 2012. Don't tell me there are now 2 cruise contracts :confused:

[esmo]

Yes Esmo, here is the email from Princess I received

 

 

From: customerrelations@princesscruises.com

Subject: Re: PRINCESS WINE POLICY CLARIFICATION PLEASE

Date: 8 March 2013 8:36:58 AM AEST

To:peter@

 

Thank you for your email regarding our wine policy.

 

The policy remains the same in terms of passengers being permitted to bring one bottle of wine or champagne

onboard per adult per voyage. If this bottle is opened in a public area (such as the dining room) a $15 corkage

fee will apply, however if the bottle is consumed in the privacy of the passenger's stateroom, no corkage will apply.

What has changed is that we recognize some of our passengers have preferences for particular wines or champagnes

and we will now be allowing passengers to bring additional bottles of wine or champagne onboard our vessels at

embarkation. Each bottle in excess of the one bottle per voyage per adult will receive a $15 corkage fee irrespective

of where this will be consumed. Princess will begin monitoring and enforcing the above policy in the coming weeks

and months as we introduce this new policy.

 

We recognize that purchasing wine or champagne ashore can be an enjoyable aspect of shopping and exploring our

ports of call. Passengers are able to bring onboard 750ml bottles of wine or champagne, however anything above and

beyond the one bottle per adult per voyage will incur a corkage fee of $15 per bottle - regardless of where consumed.

 

We appreciate our customers constructive feedback and of course will forward your concerns to our Food and Beverage

Department.

 

Sincerely,

 

Princess Cruises

Customer Relations Specialist

customerrelations@princesscruises.com

 

Thank you...I guess I will look at a couple of wine tours on our Coastal cruise in October.

[JimmyVWine]

Yes Esmo, here is the email from Princess I received

 

 

From: customerrelations@princesscruises.com

Subject: Re: PRINCESS WINE POLICY CLARIFICATION PLEASE

Date: 8 March 2013 8:36:58 AM AEST

To:peter@

 

Thank you for your email regarding our wine policy.

 

The policy remains the same in terms of passengers being permitted to bring one bottle of wine or champagne

onboard per adult per voyage. If this bottle is opened in a public area (such as the dining room) a $15 corkage

fee will apply, however if the bottle is consumed in the privacy of the passenger's stateroom, no corkage will apply.

What has changed is that we recognize some of our passengers have preferences for particular wines or champagnes

and we will now be allowing passengers to bring additional bottles of wine or champagne onboard our vessels at

embarkation. Each bottle in excess of the one bottle per voyage per adult will receive a $15 corkage fee irrespective

of where this will be consumed. Princess will begin monitoring and enforcing the above policy in the coming weeks

and months as we introduce this new policy.

 

We recognize that purchasing wine or champagne ashore can be an enjoyable aspect of shopping and exploring our

ports of call. Passengers are able to bring onboard 750ml bottles of wine or champagne, however anything above and

beyond the one bottle per adult per voyage will incur a corkage fee of $15 per bottle - regardless of where consumed.

 

We appreciate our customers constructive feedback and of course will forward your concerns to our Food and Beverage

Department.

 

Sincerely,

 

Princess Cruises

Customer Relations Specialist

customerrelations@princesscruises.com

 

Thanks for publishing this. I copied and pasted it into a Word document, changed the "To" line to read as my email address, and printed it out. It will go in my travel folder for my upcoming cruise. Plagarism? Maybe. But I know how these things go. If I fire off an email inquiring on the topic, I am going to get the same "form" response, so I figure that I will save them the trouble and time. :)

[roblox84]

Not just destroyed, drank. Years ago I tried to bring some bottles of rum on the ship from an island and I was told I would get them back at the end. They took the bottles didn't even ask for a room or name, at the end of the cruise we never got them back.

[roblox84]

Just checked our boarding pass and it does state "discarded":

 

Thank you for observing our carry-on alcohol policy. As a reminder,adult passengers are permitted to bring one 750 ml bottle of wine or champagne onboard per voyage, which will not be subject to a corkage fee if consumed in the 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 or beers are

not permitted. Please remember that luggage will be scanned and alcohol outside of our policy will be removed and discarded.

 

Nice! At least I can bring wine on. There is a guy on youtube who teaches how to uncork your wine bottle, pour in hard liquor and then recork it without it ever looking opened. One wine bottle with hard liquor should be more then enough for a week.

[Cobraman]

Seems like so much work to get liquor through the embarkation process. Wouldn't it be easier for those currently smuggling items to just shove the bottles in your pants, or the ladies could just tape the bottles to their legs under their skirts.

 

Or, prisoners have been using another favorite hiding place for years with some success...........

 

Afterall, they are not frisking passengers at this point.

[donaldsc]

Just borded the golden, any alcohol in your luggage is now being removed and destroyed. Its just happened to me. Major arguments going on down on deck 4. The new alcohol policy is now in full force. Be warned.

 

They should do the same thing for the people who lug a case of bottled water on board.

 

DON

[PunkiC]

They should do the same thing for the people who lug a case of bottled water on board.

 

DON

 

Why?

[paul929207]

They should do the same thing for the people who lug a case of bottled water on board.

 

DON

There aer no restrictions on carrying soda or water on board.