P & O Alcohol Policy

[majortom10]

We were on Britannia a few weeks ago and it wasn't enforced. I put 4 660ml bottles of Peroni in my suitcase and it was fine. Also when we stopped at Barcelona I got 8 small cans of San Miguel and carried them onto the ship. The table was there to declare alcohol but there was nobody by it.

 

To be honest it was only really enforced in Gibraltar where it seemed the whole ship bought alcohol and had to check it in. There were about 20 staff taking it and packing it up. I would suggest getting the alcohol in the terminal as soon as you get off and check it in straight away as it's cheaper there anyway and it will save a lot of time. We departed about 30 minutes late due to the alcohol being taken from passengers.

 

On our last visit to Gibraltar you could get spirits cheaper in town than purchasing from shop in the terminal it just depends if you are going into town or on an excursion or you think it isnt worth the saving by carrying it back.

[pete14]

On our last visit to Gibraltar you could get spirits cheaper in town than purchasing from shop in the terminal it just depends if you are going into town or on an excursion or you think it isnt worth the saving by carrying it back.

 

I found when last in Gibraltar that although prices in the terminal were reasonable, they were cheaper in the town (not Morrisons). No problem leaving bottles for P&O to look after and collection was well organised.

 

Shops in town don’t like people taking photos of bottles on shelves to price match on the ship for obvious reasons but in the specialist alcohol shops, the choice is much greater than onboard anyway.

[the english lady]

P and O is a business, it is there to make a profit. If it doesn't make a profit, then it ceases to be.

Go a few years down the line.

Pando will have removed the paying grats ..its all included, so prices will rise to take account of that.

Iona has already been advertised as having no set dining, just was it 3 or 4 main dining rooms that will all be freedom

They will have banned the bringing on of all alcohol onboard ..and the lengths they go to on the American lines you would have to be really really deparate for your "personal choice" to go down those paths.

They will have gone down the AI path, possibly included in the risen prices, because you will not be paying anything on top.

Pando will be a very different animal then. One that some of us may not like at all. But we are not the future of cruising.

They say be careful what you wish for...I do not wish for any of the above, but others do..whether they like the animal they end up with is a different matter.

[AndyMichelle]

We smuggled a couple of extra bottles on Britannia, then ‘smuggled’ them off again as didn’t get round to drinking them!!!

We slipped in to a routine of a couple of cocktails in the afternoon by the pool, a glass of wine people watching in the glasshouse before dinner and a couple of nightcaps in the live lounge. More than enough for us, reasonably priced and much more enjoyable than drinking in your cabin.

[Lizzy532]

Quick question please. First cruise for me and sailing from Southampton. Do we have to carry on the 1ltr of spirits or can it go in your suitcase?

 

T

[FangedRose]

Quick question please. First cruise for me and sailing from Southampton. Do we have to carry on the 1ltr of spirits or can it go in your suitcase?

 

T

Both

[wowzz]

Both

Of course, if you put it in your suitcase, you can always take another litre in your hand luggage, as suitcases are not connected to individual passengers during the screening process.

 

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[Lizzy532]

Of course, if you put it in your suitcase, you can always take another litre in your hand luggage, as suitcases are not connected to individual passengers during the screening process.

 

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Thanks, I doubt whether I would go through more than a litre of spirits in a week on my own. I will treat myself to a nice bottle for my pre dinner drink and use the cruise lines gin for any other time .

Easier to pack it in suitcase than carry with me .

[AndyMichelle]

Quick question please. First cruise for me and sailing from Southampton. Do we have to carry on the 1ltr of spirits or can it go in your suitcase?

 

T

Either or. I think a lot of people carry on just in case of breakages, but well wrapped in your suitcase is fine.

[Clodia]

If you don't want to risk breakages, do what the Americans do and decant into a plastic bottle like a rum runner, sealing the top well, then fold into a towel, jumper or fleece. Very secure, lighter in weight and also (if you're bothered) not detectable by scanners, hence Americans use them to smuggle spirits onboard.

I personally don't use mine a lot because I use the Baggage Handling Company and they ask you not to pack alcohol in your case, so I take my bottle of Absolut vodka or the brandy I prefer in my hand luggage and buy something different from Room Service.

[FraserK]

We have just come off the Arcadia and have loved our first time cruising. We have family in Helsinki and they gave us presents for my family, which included vodka, whisky and gin. We were prepared to have this taken off us and held to the end of the cruise so we advised the security before we were scanned. They did not take it off us!!!

 

The guys behind us were gobsmacked that (a) we declared it and (b) that they let us keep it.....honesty is the best policy it seems.

 

Kat

[darknightsdespiser]

Playing devil's advocate here,and I don't mean to be rude,but it amazes me why so many people get wound up about this.If you can afford to pay a lot of money to go on a cruise,why is it so important to take your own alcohol on board? You surely wouldn't expect to fly on holiday with a load of alcohol in your suitcase?

As I say,I'm not being rude just curious as to why this particular issue attracts so much attention.

Eve

exactly!

[wowzz]

I'd just say, that if you are taking a 24 day cruise, and like a glass or two of wine of your own choosing, on your balcony, then an allowance of, basically 2 bottles of wine is not over generous.

We buy cocktails, beers etc during the day, and bottles of wine with our dinner, but us wine lovers are being discriminated against due to the 1 litre of alcohol rule . Gin is roughly 3 times as strong as wine, so why can't I bring 3 times as much wine on board?

 

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[lynnek]

I was planning on taking a. 2.25l wine box between 3 people. If this is not allowed will it be stored until end of cruise and returned to us?

[happy v]

I was planning on taking a. 2.25l wine box between 3 people. If this is not allowed will it be stored until end of cruise and returned to us?

It will be allowed. We took one between two.

[FangedRose]

I was planning on taking a. 2.25l wine box between 3 people. If this is not allowed will it be stored until end of cruise and returned to us?

Any alcohol confiscated (for want of a better word) is returned at the end of the cruise.

[CCFC]

In todays news they are saying do not drink on the flight to Dubai or you will be arrested on arrival. Cant see any bottles being allowed on the ship?

[wowzz]

In todays news they are saying do not drink on the flight to Dubai or you will be arrested on arrival. Cant see any bottles being allowed on the ship?

Not sure if their is an issue with duty free drink, or wine in your suitcase. But, being warned by the authorities not to gave a single glass of wine when flying to Dubai!

Yet another reason to avoid visiting the UAE.

 

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[ONT-CA]

There was a time when cruise lines either offered cocktails free of charge or would price them to their actual untaxed value. It wasn't necessary to bring alcohol aboard back then. Somewhere along the line a bean counter saw a potential profit of upward of 1000% in selling tax and duty free liquor and it all went downhill form there. So just as one could book a room in a hotel and not have to have their luggage searched for contraband liquor, passengers brought aboard their alcohol drink requirements to their cabin. This negatively affected the bottom line and forced the lines to implement volume and seizure rules and of course higher prices. The passenger's response became smuggling.

 

If the lines could understand that offering their untaxed duty free alcohol beverages at half the current prices they would continue to make as much profit, as fewer passengers would go to the bother of smuggling and instead come out of their cabins for drinks in the lounges and bars. A win win scenario.

[Caravan 37]

Not sure if their is an issue with duty free drink, or wine in your suitcase. But, being warned by the authorities not to gave a single glass of wine when flying to Dubai!

Yet another reason to avoid visiting the UAE.

 

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What tosh! We’ve flown to Dubai twice on emirates for cruises and enjoyed the free alcohol offerings on the flights as did most passengers on the flight - there isn’t an alcohol checking booth along with security and passport checks when you arrive!

 

 

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[mds143]

What tosh! We’ve flown to Dubai twice on emirates for cruises and enjoyed the free alcohol offerings on the flights as did most passengers on the flight - there isn’t an alcohol checking booth along with security and passport checks when you arrive!

 

 

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Tosh it is not!

Surely you're heard of this case from August?

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6047315/Mother-jailed-Dubai-having-glass-wine-flight-Gatwick-makes-tearful-plea.html

It was all over the news.

The thing is, if the local authorities want to they can arrest you for possession of alcohol (even if it's only in your bloodstream).

 

I wouldn't go near the place (with or without alcohol).

 

Regards

MIke

[Caravan 37]

Tosh it is not!

 

Surely you're heard of this case from August?

 

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6047315/Mother-jailed-Dubai-having-glass-wine-flight-Gatwick-makes-tearful-plea.html

 

It was all over the news.

 

The thing is, if the local authorities want to they can arrest you for possession of alcohol (even if it's only in your bloodstream).

 

 

 

I wouldn't go near the place (with or without alcohol).

 

 

 

Regards

 

MIke

 

 

 

Yes I’m aware of the case but, as has been reported, there were prevailing issues before the subject of alcohol consumption. Fgs Dubai is in the UAE not Saudi Arabia!! If there was an issue the airlines flying into Dubai wouldn’t have alcohol available!

 

 

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[jeanlyon]

Exactly. I've been to Dubai many times. The hotels serve alcohol.

[Caravan 37]

Exactly. I've been to Dubai many times. The hotels serve alcohol.

 

 

 

being able to afford to get drunk in Dubai would be my only issue! We had brunch at the Burj al Arab and there wasn’t any wine under £100 on the menu [emoji23]

 

 

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[FraserK]

I have travelled to Dubai countless times and always had a few glasses of wine on the flight and also enjoy the club lounge facilities in the hotel where you can drink alcohol during their "Happy Hour" - 2 hours long if you so desire!!! Even in Qatar, where you cannot take drink into the country - you can still purchase and drink it in most hotels.

 

Kat