RCL Wine and Liquor Policies and Prices (Merged)

[happy cruzer]

Hi, I got my response from Mr. Carrier. It looks like a like to the RCI website FAQ about liquor but the link did not work.

 

So since he did not approve two bottles but just sent a link, I would assume his current answer is no wine.:mad:

[caviargal]

Hi, I got my response from Mr. Carrier. It looks like a like to the RCI website FAQ about liquor but the link did not work.

 

So since he did not approve two bottles but just sent a link, I would assume his current answer is no wine.:mad:

 

Sorry, happy cruzer, but not surprised as I received the same reply two weeks ago when I requested permission and supplied the names of the two bottles.

 

I am sailing Friday and will not attempt to bring wine aboard but will keep my eyes and ears peeled and report back.

[Bobblsc]

Following is the response I received from Clay Carrier this morning:

 

Good morning.

 

As per the stated policy below guests may be able to bring on 2 bottles, PER GROUP only, of wines not available on our current wine list. A $12.00 per bottle corkage fee will be imposed.

 

Due to recent policy changes regarding air transport of liquid items you will have to check these wines in your carry on luggage.

 

You may also go to the "Life on board" section of www.rccl,com for further clarification.

Best regards,

 

Clay

Culinary and Beverage Operations Specialist

Royal Caribbean, International

 

 

Following is my e-mail to him:(This must include his referrenced "stated policy below".)

 

I have been supplied this address as the location where I can obtain approval to carry on limited wines purchased on shore.

 

The following was posted on a Cruise Critic site by a reputable travel agent in late July.

 

(Quote)

This is what Royal Caribbean's Official TA site currently has under quick reference pages. I also looked at the casino info because someone mentioned that as well. This is what it had to say just a minute ago.

 

Alcoholic Beverages

We apologize for any inconvenience but due to recent regulatory and licensing requirements guests are not allowed to bring alcoholic beverages of any kind onboard for consumption or any other use. Alcoholic beverages that are purchased duty-free from the Shops On Board or at ports of call will be stored by Royal Caribbean and delivered to guest staterooms on the last day of the voyage. A member of our staff will be at the gangway to assist with the storage of any purchases.

For guests who wish to bring "fine" wine aboard, and Royal Caribbean is unable to accommodate their selection, we will, with prior approval from Royal Caribbean, allow a maximum of two bottles of wine to be brought by the guest or group. A corkage fee in the amount of $12.00 per bottle will be charged. This policy may not apply to every ship or itinerary depending on local laws, customs, or license requirements but Royal Caribbean will try and accommodate requests. Royal Caribbean is not responsible for fines imposed or items confiscated by local authorities.

Alcohol Policy

While a ship is at sea, Royal Caribbean International will not serve alcoholic beverages to guests under 21 years of age.

Note: An individual's age on the date of sailing determines his or her status for the entire cruise vacation.

(End Quote)

 

We are about to cruise on the Jewel, September 11 Transatlantic. Among other ports, the ship stops at Cherbourg where several stores have various fine French wines not available on the ship. It is my understanding that a guest can bring on board two bottles of a wine not on the Royal Caribbean list.

 

Please respond with the prior approval, as stated above, to bring such wine on board the ship. I see that there will be a corkage fee as these wines are presented for consumption at dinner. I understand that you very recently supplied another cruiser such approval.

 

Thank you for your timely response.

 

xxxxxx xxxxx, Diamond membership 315175581

(End of e-mail)

 

Of course we all know that "Life on Board " now says you can't bring any alcoholic beverages on board. Putting Carriers response and the "Life on Board" statement together, it seems to me that RCCL still lacks a consistent position.

 

Bob :confused:

[happy cruzer]

Bob, Did you notice that the link he sent you does not work either? He tried to send me the one directly to the FAQ and it did not work either.

 

Without a better approval than that I surely would not risk a very expensive wine. You did see the earlier post where they actually lost a bottle that they had taken to hold to the end of the cruise. They do have plenty of cya verbage to change any policy at any time.

 

You are generous with your comment of Not consistent. I own a small business and would be gone if I tried RCI style customer support.

 

Caviargal, thanks for the concern. Do you think HALs policy is safe for now? I know that Carnival's CEO is a big wine fan. Do you think that will help?

 

Thanks.

[Bobblsc]

Yes, I tried the link and it did not work. I then assumed he meant the regular link to RCCL. So, wondering if there was something new posted there, I went to the FAQ section and then the "Life on Board" part, and of course found the same post about alcohol that has been there for several days.

 

I would probably not risk a very expensive wine either. But I was/am only going to buy moderately priced wines in Cherburgh. I think I'll buy four bottles, carry on two myself, and ask my lovely, intelligent, talented wife to carry the other two. Clay "PER GROUP" makes absolutely no sense. I will carry the wine in normal canvas bags, and if questioned, will show several statements by RCCL stating that two bottles are allowed. If that fails, I'll photograph the wine and the RCCL person together so I have evidence that they took the wine and make certain I get it back at the end of the cruise.

 

Yes, I am generous with my term consistent. I think Clay may have been blindsided. With the apparent lack of the most rudimentary corporate communication, it would not be surprising if he had only just heard of the new rule.

 

I may write the CEO of Royal Caribbean. I am now convinced that their primary reason for all the prohibition rules is to increase revenues. There may be some thought about decreasing the risk of really bad results from over indulgence, but except for cases when their own personnel are involved, I cannot see that they could be liable. As far as I know, they have never lost a court case of this nature. RCCL settled out of court with the Smith widow. I believe the other Smith family suit is about poor treatment and mental anguish, etc., not about drinking itself.

 

My letter to the CEO will stress the concept of sub-optimization. That is, they are trying to increase revenues and profits by focusing on only one product, alcohol. At the same time they are most likely causing revenues and profits from other, more important, parts of their business, namely passenger bookings, to suffer. I own more than the necessary shares for the on board credit. I am interested in Royal Caribbean net profits.

 

Sorry my last two posts have been so long.

 

Bob :rolleyes:

[suzyluvs2cruise]

Liz,

 

BTW, those that criticize other peoples' tastes in wine are just being snobs. The beautiful things about wine are its ability to develop so many different aromas, tastes and preferences, as well as its ability to appeal to so many differing palates.

 

Here, here!!! That's why there are so many different, wonderful wines. Wouldn't it be boring if we all liked the same thing. The variety also gives us lot's of opportunities to try new wines. Some we'll like and others we won't. Isn't diversity what makes the world go round?

[MrsFops&FopsC5]

Bob, your sentiments are mind exactly. I too own shares in RCL and also CCL. I can't believe what appears to be shortsideness on their parts. If they had decent wine and beer on board (not the run of the mill Woodbridge & Bud) people like us wouldn't be prone to "smuggling". We sailed Princess last Xmas on an aft balcony cabin. (I can assure you CCL made plenty of money that week not only becasue the ship was completely sold out but because the holidays and people were enjoying family festitives) We brought along a 1993 Silver Oak Cab for dinner at Sterling's Steakhouse and the waiters didn't even bother to charge the corkage they just wanted us to enjoy our nice dinner. Thus, when time to leave we tipped accordingly and left about 1 glass in the bottle which we told the waiters to enjoy. We saw them around the ship the next few days and they commented what a nice bottle of Cab.

 

I only hope that RCL wakes up and rethinks their policy, at least be honest we are not unintelligent people who can't see through the Revenue Game.

 

Anita

[NormBailey]

I'm probably as disappointed as everyone else at the possiblity of not being able to bring wine on board, especially since next month we'll be sailing on Radiance with the owners of our local wine shop and they had a long list of some very nice wines they planned to bring.

 

But, there is another possible side to the issue here, and it may not be as obvious as simply an attempt to nickle and dime even more than they already do with sodas and such. And it might have to do with large corporations usually buckling under to the advice of legal departments, PR departments, and outside pressures.

 

RC (as well as a few others) have had high visibility in the media lately involving crimes and passengers lost at sea. In most of these cases, the issue of alcohol consumption is invariably raised. One case in particular, that involved a young man traveling with some of his friends and smuggling hard liquor on board, may have been the straw that broke the camel's back with RC's legal department regarding liability for passengers.

 

If you remember the story, the tragedy was that the kid who went overboard had been drinking heavily with his buddies. One of the security cameras on the promenade deck actually had images of him sleeping in a deck chair into the wee hours of the night. Later images showed him standing at the rail, and then the images showed no one there.

 

His buddies didn't report him missing until the next day. Too many hours and too many miles to turn back and search. But the Coast Guard did an extensive search. No sign of him.

 

Of course, most of us who enjoy bringing our own wine on board aren't likely to drink ourselves into oblivion and possibly mistake a promenade deck railing for a urinal, or lose our balance and fall overboard. But, that doesn't stop the media from publicizing the fact that underaged passengers smuggle hard liquor onto the ship and then go overboard.

 

That opens the door for lots of expensive legal actions and most large corporations will swing the pendulum a lot farther than necessary just to be on the safe side. The result is that the majority have to suffer due to the indescretions of a few.

[ORANGEinINDY]

.....And it might have to do with large corporations usually buckling under to the advice of legal departments, PR departments, and outside pressures......

It could also be just a public statement of their rules, which the intend to do little to nothing to enforce. Once the rules are "firmly" in place, anyone who breaks those rules will have to assume responsibility for anything that results from a violation of them.

 

It also gives them more authority to remove someone from the ship once they find the 'contraband' in their stateroom, or bringing it back from port. Everyone else, that behaves themselves like we most do... it's life as usual.

 

Liz,

 

BTW, those that criticize other peoples' tastes in wine are just being snobs. The beautiful things about wine are its ability to develop so many different aromas, tastes and preferences, as well as its ability to appeal to so many differing palates.

 

Here, here!!! That's why there are so many different, wonderful wines. Wouldn't it be boring if we all liked the same thing. The variety also gives us lot's of opportunities to try new wines. Some we'll like and others we won't. Isn't diversity what makes the world go round?

So.... my "Two Buck Chuck" is OK (Actually I like it...)

[happy cruzer]

Hi, Nope don't buy the security/liablity thing at all. If they had any interest in wine then the wine list, prices, and wine packages would reflect it. Nope RCI is just not into the fine dining with wine experience at a reasonable charge and that will make most happy when they know that up front before booking.

 

The wine policy changed somewhere along the line after I booked. So I canceled my Transatlantic cruise. I could not face doing wine tours in Spain, Lisbon and Portugal and either not buying wine or having to hand it over to be stored somehow, somewhere and hopefully get it back. And to not be able to drink it onboard with my dinner with paying the corkage fee. Just too disappointing a thought now.

 

So I am a HAL customer for my next trip. Got the same exact week (really 10 days) in the So. Caribbean for about $1000 less. I know I will miss the nice RCI ship but there will be compensations on HAL.

 

I hope everyone enjoys their cruise!

[caviargal]

Caviargal, thanks for the concern. Do you think HALs policy is safe for now? I know that Carnival's CEO is a big wine fan. Do you think that will help?

 

Thanks.

 

Good question as they are owned by Carnival Corp and Princess just changed their policy as well (used to be unlimited and now one bottle per person).

 

I hope so as I will be on in April, 2007, and we do a private tasting and ship in our wines and pay corkage fees and cater food, have a piano player, etc.

 

I saw where you changed your plans and I would have done the same. I have a cruise with family and friends on Celebrity this fall and would cancel if we were not so far along with airfares, etc. It will definitely influence my cruising decisions going forward. In the Med, especially, what a waste to be limited to their onboard, mediocre and $$$$ choices.

 

Hope you enjoy HAL as the service onboard was excellent on my last HAL cruise!

[loosygoosy]

Here's my 2 cents worth:

We have travelled on cruises many times and have never had problems bringing wine on board. We don't advertise that we do - we just pack it in our luggage (a computer suitcase works well for this - 6 bottles fit nicely surrounded by bubble wrap) and drink it in our room before we go to dinner. We then each take a nice full wine glass (which your cabin steward will provide) into the dining room with us to have with our meal. No one ever asks where the wine came from as it is in a ship glass. They just assume you came from another bar, etc.

[caviargal]

Here's my 2 cents worth:

 

We have travelled on cruises many times and have never had problems bringing wine on board. We don't advertise that we do - we just pack it in our luggage (a computer suitcase works well for this - 6 bottles fit nicely surrounded by bubble wrap) and drink it in our room before we go to dinner. We then each take a nice full wine glass (which your cabin steward will provide) into the dining room with us to have with our meal. No one ever asks where the wine came from as it is in a ship glass. They just assume you came from another bar, etc.

 

I have never tried to avoid paying a corkage fee by bringing a full glass into the dining room; and drinking in the cabin to save $$$ is not the issue. Nor have I have ever "smuggled" as that makes me uncomfortable.

 

While I have in the past I have always brought wine onboard either in a wine shipper box or in a special suitcase, it was prior to the new rules. I enjoy a good bottle with dinner and happily paid the corkage.

 

Now that the rules have changed, I will either (1) pay the price to drink a nice bottle, (2) patronize lines that do not have restrictions. I would not try to get away with something that is against policy. And, as I like to buy wines in port when I find something interesting (like a nice French Bordeaux in St. Martin or the good stuff in the Med) I will no longer attempt to do so. I fully expect them to enforce their policies.

[happy cruzer]

Hi Linda, you are right you will be able to enjoy your wine just that way or even have it with room service in your cabin from the dining room menu. I think the alcohol including wine in the checked bags will always get on board.

 

I think those of us who got used to the corkage fee (I even choose to patronize land based restaurents that allow BYOB) it would be too disappointing.

 

Have a great cruise!

 

Caviargal, thanks for HAL info and enjoy all your cruises they sound great!

[Disneycrazymom]

Just off the Mariner. We had Shirley from the Perfect Gift deliver baskets to both our cabins. The kids LOVED theirs. And ours arrived no problem with a bottle of VO and a bottle of wine. She also included water and soda. If you are sailing out of Canaveral this could be an option for you. She was great about shopping for exactly what we wanted. I didn't have to worry about carrying it on or it spilling into the luggage.

[happy cruzer]

Hi DCrazyMOm!

 

First I am very glad your deliveries worked out and you were happy. I think this is a very nice service.

 

But it does leave me wondering why guests i.e. paying customers are not allowed to bring the same items on board? I don't think it's more secure to have the 3rd party vendors deliver it. They probably have no security screening, I do hope every item is screened, and if they actually can come on a ship that they will not sail on, I think that's a serious security risk if they have no background check the equivalent of the staff onboard.

 

bottom line is if a 3rd party vendor can bring it onboard (they may pay a fee) then a passenger should be able to and pay the fee. that would be fair.

[LauraS]

Hi Folks!

 

I received word from the nice folks over at Royal Caribbean that the person you have been writing to is not responsible for the administration or implementation of the new alcohol policy on board Royal Caribbean ships.

They have asked me to reply that the best information they can offer you would be to call customer service regarding info on their policy.

 

Laura

[Host Karen]

Thanks, Laura, for posting while on vacation, no less. Hope you're having a great time.

 

In light of all the recent changes to Royal Caribbean's alcohol policies, this thread is being closed. You may wish to join the discussion on RCCL's policies after 7/28, which may be found here: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=387894

 

Karen

HostKaren@CruiseCritic.com