Bringing your own liquor on board

[paulap70]

I have put bottles of rum in my carry on with no problems whatsoever. Like a poster above said, if you try and carry on a big box tote, the security guys will probably take it until the end of the cruise, but if you try a bottle here and a bottle there, nothing gets said. That's been my experience with cruises from San Juan and Miami, as well as ports in Eastern, Western, and Southern itineraries.

 

Last April, while in St. Thomas, we visited a grocery store in Havensight Mall and purchased a 12-pack of Diet 7UP because we didn't want the non-diet sodas in the in-room fridge and didn't like the $3 or so per can charge. Carried the 12-pack on like a piece of luggage and no one said a word. Plan on doing the same thing next month in San Juan. Hopefully, won't have a problem with this, either!

[Green4me]

6 cruises under our belt and never questioned. We also take a full case of water, tape on a luggage tag and it is always delivered to our room. We have suitcases that are used for beer, wine and select other adult beverages exculsively. :D

Enjoy

[ShamrockFL]

We have been on 15 cruises and my Grandmother brings a regular size bottle of rum and a regular size bottle of vodca everytime we sail. She even brings a 6 pack of coke. .:)

 

Sounds like my kind of grandmother!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:D Good for her.

[CGTNORMANDIE]

I have always been in favor of "in cabin consumption". I do see some mention of "I take it out to the pool"...THIS IS WRONG!!! It is in bad taste and poor form to take your libation to a public area. What you do in your cabin is your business as long as you do not bother anyone else. Taking your booze to a public area of the ship is simply tacky and in very bad taste. The ship has every right to make a profit in the entertainment areas. Next we will be hearing about pax bringing their own booze into the bars onboard!!! Dead horse or no dead horse...some pax need to be reminded.

[yarlenna]

So here is a question. We all know that you are not suppose to bring your own liquor on board the ship. Why? A hotel or resort would never tell you that you could not bring your own liquor. Why does a cruise ship? It is so obvious that they just want your money. It is one thing that really bothers me about cruising. I enjoy going out to the bars as much as the rest of them, but it is nice to be able to make your own drink as well. While in Hawaii earlier this year, we stayed at the Westin Maui where a small, and I mean small, drink in a plastic cup by the pool was $9.00. Having a bottle of rum in our room and some fruit juices was the perfect solution. While drinking by the pool, we would make our own drinks. At night, we would go to the bar and have a drink if we wanted. I am by no means a cheap person, I just don't understand what the big deal is. I would love to hear from other cruisers their opinons on this topic.

Would you bring liquor to a bar or to a restaurant?

[critterchick]

OK, I'll ask the easier question: Does anyone have a story where they were denied bringing aboard ANY alcoholic beverage, under ANY circumstances, at the ORIGINAL PORT of embarkation? If so, what port, what line, when, and what were the circumstances?

 

I've seen hard liquor confiscated at the Port of Los Angeles for Vision of the Seas, a couple of years ago when we sailed on her. If booze showed up in your luggage going through the scanner, somebody would yell "Alcohol check!" and presumably you were supposed to stop at the table and turn it in. We had a bottle of wine, they yelled "AC!" and we boarded without stopping. Nobody shot us in the back.:D

 

Interestingly, we have not seen the station set up on Monarch cruises out of the same terminal.

[aprilfool]

Just got off the Jewel and ckd 2 soft sided coolers.One held case of beer and one case of water and coke.Both were delivered to our room no problem

[SCCruzer]

Someone earlier mentioned PR laws about not confiscating liquor. The law must not have been in effect on Sept 20th. We were in San Juan, in port on the Mariner, bought liquor in the ports duty free shop. When purchasing, they asked to see our Sea Pass, asked for cabin #, ( gave a different # ) paid went on to the Ship, boarded, back pack went through X-Ray, ship personal asked if we had liquor after the Customs person on X-Ray gave them " the nod " ( even named what type it was ) tagged and took it. DW said that the monitor was in color. Of course we got it back Saturday morning prior to leaving. We all know there are ways to get around this... The rest of the trip wasn't an issue...

[beachchick]

Would you bring liquor to a bar or to a restaurant?

 

But a cruise ship is not just a bar or restaurant, is it? It's also your hotel/resort. So, while I can certainly see not allowing you to bring your own drinks into the bars (which would be just wrong in any case), no I do not agree with not being allowed to bring some for use in your cabin (room). Yes, I would/do bring wine or other beverages into a hotel room--and that is the straight-line comparison here; not whether we would take it to a bar or restaurant.

 

BTW, most restaurants are happy to charge you a corkage fee if you bring your own wine and where it's allowed by law (some jurisdictions don't allow it at all), and which RCI is happy to do for you themselves. So, on the one hand they might tell you that no alcohol is allowed, but on the other they tell you that they will charge you a $12 corkage fee when you bring your own wine to the dining room. Go figure the logic of that.

 

beachchick

[bbnbama]

6 cruises under our belt and never questioned. We also take a full case of water, tape on a luggage tag and it is always delivered to our room. We have suitcases that are used for beer, wine and select other adult beverages exculsively. :D

Enjoy

 

WOW...I'm impressed...suitcases used exclusively for booze....what a concept!!!!:D

[rubrrick]

But a cruise ship is not just a bar or restaurant, is it? It's also your hotel/resort. So, while I can certainly see not allowing you to bring your own drinks into the bars (which would be just wrong in any case), no I do not agree with not being allowed to bring some for use in your cabin (room). Yes, I would/do bring wine or other beverages into a hotel room--and that is the straight-line comparison here; not whether we would take it to a bar or restaurant.

 

BTW, most restaurants are happy to charge you a corkage fee if you bring your own wine and where it's allowed by law (some jurisdictions don't allow it at all), and which RCI is happy to do for you themselves. So, on the one hand they might tell you that no alcohol is allowed, but on the other they tell you that they will charge you a $12 corkage fee when you bring your own wine to the dining room. Go figure the logic of that.

 

beachchick

 

beachchick is right on in her first paragraph. My DW and I bring a bottle each of our favorite spirits on any trip that we take, for consumption in our room. We would not dream of taking our own liquor to the hotels restaurant, bar, or any other public area. When outside of our room, we purchase any liquor, or any soft drink for that matter, as would be served (ie. by the glass). Now, when we run out of our "in room" liquor, we simply purchase another bottle at the store and bring it back to the room. This is where the rules have changed for RCCL and cruising. It is no problem to bring a bottle aboard at embarkation. However, once that is gone, you cannot go to their retail liquor store and purchase another bottle for consumption in your room. Before the first week of August, it was no problem to do exactly that, and pay the company a $9.00 consumption fee. Now that they have done away with that policy, we must simply take more liquor aboard at the beginning of any lengthy cruise.

 

Next April, we leave on the Jewel for the Transatlantic crossing. We plan on X number of bottles for the crossing, but then we are staying aboard in Harwich for the Baltic portion. Well, the logistics will be interesting, but we will have a package delivered to our cabin for the next leg.

 

We still give RCCL plenty of money because we use the bars, and purchase wine with dinner, in addition to the amount of money that they get to extract for our suite. The day that they start confiscating our embarkation liquor will be our last cruise on RCCL. I don't think that they want that and we certainly don't want that. I believe that as long as we remain responsible for our actions, RCCL will remain responsible for making sure that we have an enjoyable cruise.

 

Rick

[fireguy091]

Would you bring liquor to a bar or to a restaurant?

 

Yep we take wine all the time. Thats why upscale resturants have a thing called a corkage fee...:)

[BearySweet2Cruise]

When my husband and I cruised out of Bayonne in September we brought a rolling cooler with us . This contained wine and a few pieces of blue ice. When we went thru security in the port they stopped my husband and made him open the cooler. They could of cared less about the wine they were curious about blue ice. They weren't quite sure what it was. Once they took a look we were ok to proceed. We even rolled the cooler right on the ship without a question. So that pretty much tells you their opinion of the subject, they can care less.

 

Curious.. How would you freeze the blue ice? There are no freezers in the refrigerators in the cabins..

[BearySweet2Cruise]

I have to add, while we brought our own bottles on board, we ended up leaving them in the room for the next guest since our room attendent didn't want them. We never got around to using them....

I am quite sure they tossed them out, or something. they do not allow items to be left for others unless you leave it in the safe. That is the only place that things will stay for the next guest.

[BearySweet2Cruise]

Yep we take wine all the time. Thats why upscale resturants have a thing called a corkage fee...:)

 

We have taken wine as well. Remeber to pack the corkscrew. :):)

[BearySweet2Cruise]

Would you bring liquor to a bar or to a restaurant?

 

I had to reply to this.. because yes I DO do this. I have a travel mug and am known to carry an alcoholic beverage to a bar or a restraunt. I have done this a lot and never have been told I cannot. I do not drink much or often, but when I do, I take it with me where I am going. :)

[JanLam]

First cruise on NCL in Boston, large trash bags FULL of booze that NCL confiscated from carry-on luggage. We had ours in our checked in luggage and no problem. I have never seen booze being confiscated during initial boarding from checked in luggage. One time, we had beer in a backpack in Bermuda, they saw it in the x-ray machine, asked what it was, then said "oh" and we went on our merry way. (NCL) Another time we purchased 3 bottles and RCCL packaged it up for safekeeping till the last night of the cruise when it was delivered to our stateroom. Any time we checked booze in our check-thru luggage, it was not a problem. I bring a cool bag/cooler that folds up. I put the bottles inside it with bubble wrap and put it in the biggest suitcase. Never had a problem yet.

[Gldnknight]

I'm planning to go on Royal Caribbean during spring break to the Bahamas (yes I am a college student). Would this be a pretty good plan as to bringing my own alcohol? Buying a 24 pack of water and filling the inner bottles of the water case with a "handle" of vodka and labeling it as checked luggaged? Or putting Rum or some other beverage in a water bottle and stow it with my toiletries bag?

 

Thanks for the ideas.

[Nliedel]

If you are an adult you do not need to sneak it on like that. If you are under 21 then please do everyone a favor and just don't. Either bring it in your checked luggage if you are over 21 or get your parents to sign the waiver and drink Beer and Wine if you are under. I know it sounds like a lecture but I was a college student on spring break once too ya know.

[FitzLA]

I agree with Nliedel. If you are under 21, and they find the alchohol in your bags, they could refuse to let you on the ship all together. Not worth taking the chance. If you are OVER 21, Whisky in a Lipton Brisk Ice Tea Bottle works really good.

[FitzLA]

Would you bring liquor to a bar or to a restaurant?

 

Since this question was directed towards, I will answer as well. What a stupid question you asked. I was comparing to a hotel and why you can bring liquor to a hotel, but not a cruise ship. Maybe you just think of a cruise ship as one big restaurant/bar, but it is not. It is a floating resort, with many bars and a few restaurants. I would not bring any liquor to a bar or restaurant on the ship, unless I was allowed to and paid a corkage fee, but that was not the issue here. I have brought wine to many land based restaurants and paid the fee. I have also brought liquor to hotels, ie in Hawaii, while on Vacation. I drink it in the room, or make a drink to bring to the pool. Which is allowed. My question was if you can bring it to a hotel why not a cruise ship. So, would you like to restate your question now into something that makes sense?

[newmexicoNita]

First cruise on NCL in Boston, large trash bags FULL of booze that NCL confiscated from carry-on luggage. We had ours in our checked in luggage and no problem. I have never seen booze being confiscated during initial boarding from checked in luggage. One time, we had beer in a backpack in Bermuda, they saw it in the x-ray machine, asked what it was, then said "oh" and we went on our merry way. (NCL) Another time we purchased 3 bottles and RCCL packaged it up for safekeeping till the last night of the cruise when it was delivered to our stateroom. Any time we checked booze in our check-thru luggage, it was not a problem. I bring a cool bag/cooler that folds up. I put the bottles inside it with bubble wrap and put it in the biggest suitcase. Never had a problem yet.

I believe NCL is the strictest of all, but they do mark it and return it to you the night before the cruise ends. We have been successful getting bottles through in our check thru luggage even on NCL. The only time we were busted was in San Juan (Celebrity) and once NCL. We don't try any fancy means of hiding it nor do we try to bring an entire bar on with us. If they take the liquor we just shrug it off as we know the policy. I personally think the lines will all start cracking down more in the future. DARN!!!

[newmexicoNita]

I'm planning to go on Royal Caribbean during spring break to the Bahamas (yes I am a college student). Would this be a pretty good plan as to bringing my own alcohol? Buying a 24 pack of water and filling the inner bottles of the water case with a "handle" of vodka and labeling it as checked luggaged? Or putting Rum or some other beverage in a water bottle and stow it with my toiletries bag?

 

Thanks for the ideas.

I hope you don't run into my granddaughter on spring break, she is also a college student and is thinking similar to you I bet. I am trying to discourage her from even thinking about a spring break cruise. I know I wouldn't want to be on that cruise!!!! LOL

[Lady & Sir]

Many years ago, on a honeymoon cruise, I sailed on NCL (June 1986) and luckily found out before sailing I could not take a very expensive bottle of champagne that wa a gift from my father.

 

In January of this year we sailed RCI and I didn't even think to bring anything. But in the giftshop onboard, was a liquor store. We are sailing again in November and I am thinking it might be nice to take a little something with us.

 

I have heard folks say that if you carry it on the airlines, then when you get your bags switch it to the luggage, you have no problems. Thoughts???

 

Beth

[rendus]

I have always been in favor of "in cabin consumption". I do see some mention of "I take it out to the pool"...THIS IS WRONG!!! It is in bad taste and poor form to take your libation to a public area. What you do in your cabin is your business as long as you do not bother anyone else. Taking your booze to a public area of the ship is simply tacky and in very bad taste. The ship has every right to make a profit in the entertainment areas. Next we will be hearing about pax bringing their own booze into the bars onboard!!! Dead horse or no dead horse...some pax need to be reminded.

 

 

But how will everyone know it's a personal drink?

 

I routinely throw my personal rum and coke in a rock tumbler from one of the bars and none is the wiser. On the Mariner last week one of the drink-of-the-day glasses was a tall insulated mug. Nobody could tell by looking at it what was inside. I bought the mug (and pina colada) for $10, by God, nobody is going to tell me what I can or can't refill it with.