Bringing alcohol on board

[lbandbuggy]

I know this has been discussed over and over...and I was worried when I went on my cruise as to what actually happened. I was on the Grandeur in July 2004. All my cruise documents said was that RCI reserves the right to not allow alcohol on board, not that it was actually not allowed. I packed a hard suitcase (with my comforter that I never leave home without) and I packed bottled water (since the cruise line does not sell the brand I prefer) and cans of soda (again, a brand that the cruise line does not sell) and my husband brought a 12 pack of beer. There was no problem, the suitcase was delivered without a hitch. We never hid what we brought, it was in plain sight the entire trip, and the cabin steward never looked twice. We drank what we brought while we were in the room, and we bought drinks (sodas, beer, and mixed drinks) whenever we wanted them while out on deck. Don't worry about getting caught bringing something in, I never saw where it is actually not allowed. After our experience, I really don't think it is a big deal. By the way, after the suitcase was emptied of our drinks, we used it to pack souvenirs in for the trip home, and the comforter protected them.

 

For all of the people who ask if we would bring our own drinks to a club or dinner, of course we wouldn't. But do we pack the sodas and snacks that we prefer when we go an a land based vacation? Yes, of course we do.

[profjanmc]

That's exactly what we did on MOS last December, no hitches.... I hate paying 3.00 for water!

[maureenrick]

Just a hint. If you do decide to bring alcohol on board, DO Not put it in your carry on bags/purse. When you first get in line to check in, they check your bags. My friend carried it in her carry on & they took it. She got it back when the cruise was over. She was very bummed.

[Roger Rabbit]

Has anyone ever brought on board a 1.5L bottle of their favorite wine ?

Is this ok ...we don't mind paying the corkage fee for this but don't want to be told that a 1.5L is out of the question (Unallowed on board).

[Donnaluv2cruise]

Pack your corkscrew and avoid the corkage fee. ;)

[Compass Rose Monica]

Pack your corkscrew and avoid the corkage fee. ;)

Certainly bring a corkscrew for wine bottles IN your cabin, but if you bring a bottle to the table, I believe you'll be charged a corkage fee. I can't imagine a cruise line allowing you to bring your own bottle to the table and opening it yourself. Anyone out there to confirm this?

 

Monica :)

[koolcruiser43]

You can buy duty free liquor at the gift shop on board and bring it back to your cabin for the same price you would pay to go through the trouble of trying to smuggle it on. Or

You can purchase liquor as a gift before you sail on Princess's web site and it will be in your room waiting for you as a bon voyage gift. Then you can carry along sodas, water and other beverages in a carry on rolling cooler and have your own private bar at sea.

[sleaffy]

Well, I suppose you could drink it, but only after it is delivered to your cabin right before you get off the ship. So don't depend on the duty-free.

 

However, I know that Princess allows you to buy bottles of liquor through room service. A litre bottle of just about anything "well" will run you $22. (Absolut, Captain, etc.) You can order it online before you go or on the ship. You'll probably also want to tip the room service person.

 

Our plan is to bring our own on board and buy more through room service if needed. (Save a few $ that way, and its worth the shelp.) Buy the vodka on board, and since we'll be in the Carribean, tequila and rum we'll buy ashore. As long as you're cool about it, no one really wants to be the jerk that takes your booze away!

[tirons999]

Has anyone ever taken any drink mixes, powdered lemonade, ice tea, hurricane mix, to mix with whatever alcohol you may bring aboard?

 

I would hate to have baggage checkers think I was smuggling drugs or something, when all I'm trying to do is have a drink on my balcony before dinner...

[tirons999]

bump to top to see if anyone has brought powered drink mixes aboard. Thanks!

[trout5]

We have brought powdered Gatorade on each trip. They didn't have it for purchase and we needed it for a sick/dehydrated kid. But then we took it again the next time to mix up in our water bottles for onshore excursions.

[psychtobe]

Going on Grandeur in January, 1st cruise ever for the two of us.

 

I've seen different advice on the message boards as far as bringing wine on board in the carry-on. Some have suggested it is better in the checked luggage, others have suggested it is better as carry-on. On this thread, it suggests not bringing it as carry-on.

 

Those with experience, what's the final word on this? Since Mrs. psychtobe doesn't drink, it would just be 1 or 2 bottles for the entire trip.

 

thank you.

[psychtobe]

Can I bring my own liquor onboard?

We apologize for any inconvenience but due to our regulatory and licensing requirements guests are not allowed to bring alcoholic beverages of any kind onboard for consumption or any other use.

 

is this enforced? is this a new policy?

[NeedstoCruise]

I don't know about RCL but we were on the Glory and brought Vodka, Champagne and Sodas. Nothing was said, NO PROBLEM and it we made good use of all of it.

[Bengoshi]

Char posted a comment on the wines and corkage fees thread which addresses the questions. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=106880

 

Putting the "Is it OK to bring wine aboard or not?" issue aside (Char addressed that in her post), let me address how you physically get the wine aboard. What has worked for me in the past (at least it worked on Princess twice and on HAL), is to go to a wine shop which has stryrofoam inserts (molded to fit wine bottles, not styrofoam peanuts) for sturdy cardboard boxes. These come in 4, 6 and 12 bottle sizes. For those of us fortunate enough to live in states where one may order wine to be shipped from a winery to one's home or business, this is how the wineries ship the wine.

 

Select and load your wines of choice. Tape the box shut. Write your name, name of the ship and stateroom number on the box, add a tag with the same information, and bring it to the pier with you. We plan to do so. One California chain which has the boxes, and the wine, (and they will even pre-load your case with your selections), is Beverages & More. If you Google them, you'll find their website, and a store locator.

 

Cheers!

[seastar2]

I have brought wine in my carry on twice on to Princess ships..they allow wine NOT HARD liquior to be brought on board. I had an old corksrew in my checked luggage since I knew that would be a problem at the ariport. This trip I will purchase the wine in Fll before I board instead of lugging from home.

[Nessi]

In previous cruises I have been successful with the "booze in the waterbottle" trick (packed in my suitcase). After reading the postings, I don't want to risk it. Has anyone had success with a box of wine in their suitcase?

 

Thank you! :)

[kimdavid]

Agree completely. In fact, we WON a bottle of wine while on the ship actually it was Champaign and we had to pay the corkage fee for them to open it! And, we brought a bottle along and again, a corkage fee.

Certainly bring a corkscrew for wine bottles IN your cabin, but if you bring a bottle to the table, I believe you'll be charged a corkage fee. I can't imagine a cruise line allowing you to bring your own bottle to the table and opening it yourself. Anyone out there to confirm this?

 

Monica :)

[midwife56]

I would not put it in carry on. They (cruiseline) are obliged to search. If you come across someone vying for employee of the month, they may confiscate it. We have packed champagne, vodka in our suitcases (well wrapped) without a problem.

[GCurry]

The Princess Line lets you bring wine on board, so, we took two 5 ltr boxes in a checked suitcase (they fit in the room refrigerator) bottled water, and a 1 liter bottle of tonic which had mysteriously changed to vodka when it got to the room.

In the tropics we take no chances, and had vodka tonics daily to ward off malaria, so we had to refill the "tonic" bottle in town at Costa Maya. Good thing we didn't fly, the suitcase was somewhat heavy.

[JenX]

and had vodka tonics daily to ward off malaria

 

LOL!!! Who knew? :)

[GCurry]

You can't be too careful, on jungle tours, we sometimes take a flask of snakebite remedy, and a small bag of snakes!

So far, Nassau seems to have the best selection and prices for adult beverages we've seen. Holland America before Carnival bought them had a great onboard shop for alcohol you could take back to your cabin, at really good prices.

[go-go295]

Hi...just back from a cruise on Diamond Princess...there were 24 of us...and we threw a cocktail party every night...in my 6 (!) suitcases I brought aboard 12 bottles of wine, a half-gallon of vodka, fifth of gin, and fifth of scotch...NO problem!!!

Have fun!

[atlmagic]

OK....

 

1. You're not supposed to bring Hard Booze on the ship.

 

2. Everyone does anyway.

 

3. For cheap/good stuff. Wait till you go to a port. Get off and buy CLEAR

booze.

 

4. Put it in a water bottle.

 

5. Walk on ship.

 

6. Dont ask. Dont tell.

 

7. Have a great trip!

[Linda45]

We have been on 4 cruises, 3 with RCCL. Have always brought half gallon of our favorite scotch without problems. Just wrapped it with clothes and put it in the middle of our checked luggage. Never a problem. Even left it out on the counter in the rooms-nothing was ever said. Interestingly, on one cruise with Norweigian Cruise lines we did the same thing, we had a good laugh when our luggage was delivered-suitcase had a huge purple tape wrapped around it with the word "liquor" printed all over it.Looked down the hallway and saw quite a few bags with the "liquor sticker" Nothing ever happened, we just took in in our cabin and enjoyed!!!