What should the alcohol policy be???

[Krausssj]

Since this is always a hot topic of conversation, what do you feel the policy by RCI on alcohol should be?

[wraithe]

Whatever the owner of the ship wants it to be, but if we're dreamin, then I think you should be allowed to bring one bottle to be kept in your room.

[Starbright]

Never travelled with RCI yet, only Princess and HAL. They do allow you to bring alcohol on board (not spirits though).

 

I can understand the cruise lines not wanting people to bring huge amounts of beer, wine, spirits etc, but I do think they should allow a small amount per passenger so that people can perhaps buy wine to try in the various ports. It's lovely to have some wine in the fridge to drink on the balcony.

 

We'll be on Navigator of the Seas in October, so it will be our first experience of not taking wine on board.

[BobBeaSea]

You are a brave soul :).

 

1. Smuggling is not to be tolerated. No beer or alcohol to be brought onboard.

 

2. Allow the purchase of bar set-ups and wine for in-cabin consumption only. Price it to prevent abuse and protect the revenue stream.

 

3. Wine should be allowed to be brought onboard providing RCI doesn't list it on their Wine List. There should be a significant fee for this perk. This fee would cover in-cabin consumption as well as corkage in the dining room. Passengers should declare if they have wine with them and pay for it at check-in. Any wine not declared should be taken and NOT returned. If this is too much of a problem to administer - no wine to be brought aboard.

 

4. The minimum age of 21 for North American sailings is a tough one. I think the vast majority of cruisers on most of these sailings are American, hence the new minimum age. The problem is, with the exception of about 4 countries, all countries who allow the consumption of alcohol have a minimum age requirement of 18. 18 - 20 year olds from these countries will be in for a surprise as most people will not know about the age requirement until their docs are delivered (not everyone is a member of CC :)). Probably best to leave it at 21 for now and see how it goes.

 

That's about it as far as I am concerned. Most of the above is what other lines already offer.

[BobBeaSea]

Ooopps! Double post.

[tampagal61]

I don't mind if they keep it current, as long as they carry a better selection and do not rape you on the cost.

[Mark_K]

Since this is always a hot topic of conversation, what do you feel the policy by RCI on alcohol should be?

And apparently you want to keep it that way.

 

Regardless, unless you worded it differently, you missed the most obvious choice - The way it used to be (when you could buy bottles on board, pay an extra charge, around $10, and take them to your room with their blessing).

[piercetc4]

i would not even mind if we brought our own bottle of vodka on and paid them the $10 consumption fee -

[KillaFee]

I checked "other" because c'mon....you know that no matter WHAT their policy is, everyone is going to continue to break it and keep pushing it. If they allowed you to bring one bottle, people would bring 5. I'm just going to keep buying liquor onboard because I don't think they charge an astronomical amount of $$ for booze and I'd rather not risk soaking my luggage w/alcohol or be worried about it getting confiscated.....and if I want liquor in the room I can just stop at one of the bars or call room service. Am I the only one that thinks like this? :o

Laura

[BEVGOO]

We vote for bringing on borad my own wine that they do not carry on RCCl's wine list. We have a drink in the cabin before dinner and take our own bottle to dinner and pay the corkage fee. We always spend money with them in the long run, so RCCL profits will not suffer. We are responsible adults and should be treated as such. JUST MY OPINION.

[CGTNORMANDIE]

Bottles of wine, beer and bottles of spirits with bar set-ups should be made available for in-cabin consumption. There should be a menu included in your cabin papers. This service should be as simple as ordering room service. I absolutely hate the mini bar concept...and I will never use it.

[Frankiesmom]

I would like to be able to bring 3-4 bottles of my favorite wine-Yellowtail Pinot Grigio or Chardonnay. And 1 bottle of my DH's favorite Gentleman's Jack. I would of course be willing to pay a corkage fee for the wine and pay a consumption fee for the jack. Thanks for letting me give my humble opinion. Angel;)

[torpeedo]

I voted other to allow me to bring a couple of bottle of my fav wine and a bottle of champagne for drinking in my cabin.. HAL allows this as does Princess and others. I don't see why all passengers must be restricted because a a few fools..

[jevotm]

I voted other as I believe they should allow you to bring wine aboard. The current system is too restrictive and un fair to the consumer.

[Aubiecruiser]

I voted other since I liked the old system they had prior to the missing pax on the Brillince back in 2005. Before then you could buy a couple of bottles from the duty free store beginning the first night and pay a $9.50 / bottle service charge to take it to your cabin. We bought our setups from any bar (Tonic $1.50 / can) and any juice / condiments were pretty easily picked up in the windjammer or from a bar. This system worked well because even after the surcharge, the cost of the liquor was about the same as normal retail. RCI still made money, but they had no control over how much a passenger drank.

Aubie

[MattInFLL]

OH NO - are you telling me they stopped the "$10 surcharge, take the bottle back to your room" service?? That was the best and fairest system. They made money, and if they wanted to control how much you drank, limit the number of bottles.

 

How do they feel about bringing bottled water on board?

[FPP777]

I am for going back to the way it was where you could buy what you want in Duty Free on the first night and pay the upcharge.

[cot427]

I feel that you should be able to bring one bottle of spirits onboard and comsume whenever you want without having to purchase a single drink.

[prc]

The policy should be whatever the ships owner says it should be.

 

Just like it was in the old days playing sandlot baseball..."my bat, my ball, my rules".

[Barbiegator]

I vote other because we would like to be able to bring wine aboard. Especially when you are in port and coming back on ship. Fun to buy wine in different areas.

[sharpie13]

I voted other to allow me to bring a couple of bottle of my fav wine and a bottle of champagne for drinking in my cabin.. HAL allows this as does Princess and others. I don't see why all passengers must be restricted because a a few fools..

 

Ditto! We vote for bringing on borad our own wine that they do not carry on RCCl's wine list. We enjopy taking our own bottle to dinner and willing pay the corkage fee on other lines. Addtionally, we always spend money with them for other beverages, but their current winelist is limited and disappointing.

[BiteMEagain]

I voted "set-up and allow 1 bottle. Mainly becuase my wife likes to drink a Baileys type of liquer (Amarulla) and they don't have that on the ship. Sure would be nice if they allowed us to bring a bottle on.

 

FYI Amarulla is a South African drink that I always say if you like Baileys you'll love Amarulla. Similar in taste but Amarulla isn's as sweet.

[KKeeganS]

I have not and will never smuggle alcohol aboard,and realistically will never consume drinks in our cabin. What would interest me is a system similar to the "coke card" that would give you a discounted price for a certain number of cocktails or frozen drinks.

[Albert Ross]

On other cruises I have been on we have literally had a case of wine/champagne delivered to the dockside and we have carried them on.

No this does not stop us from spending money in the bars but enables us to have a drink of what we like to drink in our room. Let me bring some wine on and I will be happy.:) Oh, and no corkage charged for this wine either

[critterchick]

What would interest me is a system similar to the "coke card" that would give you a discounted price for a certain number of cocktails or frozen drinks.

 

RCI used to have that, too, but it was for house brands only, no mixed drinks. You couldn't even get a martini on the card.

 

I voted "other." I would allow pax to bring on up to 12 bottles (a case) of wine at embarkation, whether or not RCI carries it (how are they going to verify bottles that go in checked luggage, after all?), and bring wine back from ports, too. Charge $15 corkage in the dining room, which will still give RCI a decent markup, no corkage for in-cabin consumption. That's how Princess does it, although they nominally restrict you to bringin 2 bottles per stateroom. We brought on 4 with no issue.

 

I don't see it as cutting into their margins by that much - most people aren't going to bring on full cases (although we did once travel with a wine society that brought on 60 cases for a 9-night cruise, quite a distinct minority), but maybe a few bottles and then buy something in port to try.

 

As for hard liquor, I would still ban that from being brought onboard, whether RCI stocks it or not. But let passengers purchase from the duty free shop for a fee of $10-20 to bring it back to their cabins.

 

I don't have an opinion about beer.;)