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Sneaking alcohol on Carnival Dream??


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It just never fails to amaze me that people actually brag about how they so cleverly break the rules and get away with it. I do wonder how it feels to be so special that the rules don't apply to you.

 

 

Tom

No one is bragging. Someone asked a question, and I told them how my husband managed to do it. How is having a bottle of liquor different than a bottle of wine? Neither myself nor my husband like wine. :rolleyes:

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No one is bragging. Someone asked a question, and I told them how my husband managed to do it. How is having a bottle of liquor different than a bottle of wine? Neither myself nor my husband like wine. :rolleyes:

 

I don't know why wine is allowed - perhaps the same reason beauty products with heating elements (curling iron/flat iron) are permitted while other items with heating elements (steamers/clothes irons/coffee pots) aren't - risk of alienating too many customers.

 

A couple ways a bottle of wine is different than a bottle of liquor:

-Wine is a much lower alcohol content than liquor. Many grocery stores sell beer and wine, but spirits can only be purchased at state stores (in PA).

-A bottle of wine yields about 4 glasses (depending on the pour) and would likely only last 1-2 days. A bottle of liquor gives many more drinks and could last the whole cruise, likely leading to fewer drinks purchased (assuming 1L bottle and not mini bottles).

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No one is bragging. Someone asked a question, and I told them how my husband managed to do it. How is having a bottle of liquor different than a bottle of wine? Neither myself nor my husband like wine. :rolleyes:

 

They make more money on the bottle of liquor, which is one of the reasons they prohibit the practice.

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  • 2 weeks later...
I don't know, but to me 'smuggling' alcohol aboard a cruise ship is stealing from the guests that do not. Alcohol sales on cruise ships help defray the costs of running a cruise ship. If those that find saving a few bucks by sneaking booze aboard do it enough the cruise lines will have to cover the loss of income by increasing cruise fares. That's going to impact the 'smugglers' as well as those that follow the rules. Oops, I forgot, rules are for other people. Thanks rum runners :mad:.

If I come across [as one poster said of another poster near the beginning of this thread] as "being nasty" I'm not, but I am disappointed that some people feel cheating is clever. If you can't pay you shouldn't play. Stop stealing.

 

Not sure how it is stealing. And if I can't afford to pay, I won't pay.

 

Basically there are 2 options: I sneak on alcohol and Carnival has a chance to make money of my purchase of mixers (soda package usually) or I don't and I don't buy anything from Carnival. If they sold drinks for a more reasonable price (or not require both my wife & I to both get the drink package with its 15 drink maximum that we wouldn't hit combined or not have to get it for every single day) I'd bite. Or maybe if they would allow me to order a decent beer for my room (some beers they also don't list the size for some reason so you don't know what you are buying). Do I feel a little cheated when I see the people with 1 Liter bottles of wine get by with it no problem? Sure, but it is more disappointed that I didn't do it (and am not going to risk my guaranteed 750ml).

 

Sneaking it on kind of sucks because it is inconvenient to go back to the room to drink, and you are extremely limited on choice by doing so. Because of it, you end up buying some from the bar anyway because you now are a little looser with the purse strings. There is definitely a mass disadvantage. The one advantage is it is kind of fun. It is also silly that you have the same wine rule for 3 day as 7+ day, when clearly the 3 day is better off there.

 

I took 2 Listerine bottles no problem onto Carnival Dream and also got some more in port (which is the safest way to do it) as you can carry your drink on board and you can get on and off as you please at non-tender ports.

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Curious if you sneak booze into a land based restaurant because they charge too much? Curious what you think a cruise line should charge for drinks, and based on what factual info is the concept they should charge what you think they should.

 

Lastly, are cruise lines not allowed to make a profit on their sales of booze? When was that outlawed?

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Not sure how it is stealing. And if I can't afford to pay, I won't pay.

 

 

 

Basically there are 2 options: I sneak on alcohol and Carnival has a chance to make money of my purchase of mixers (soda package usually) or I don't and I don't buy anything from Carnival. If they sold drinks for a more reasonable price (or not require both my wife & I to both get the drink package with its 15 drink maximum that we wouldn't hit combined or not have to get it for every single day) I'd bite. Or maybe if they would allow me to order a decent beer for my room (some beers they also don't list the size for some reason so you don't know what you are buying). Do I feel a little cheated when I see the people with 1 Liter bottles of wine get by with it no problem? Sure, but it is more disappointed that I didn't do it (and am not going to risk my guaranteed 750ml).

 

 

 

Sneaking it on kind of sucks because it is inconvenient to go back to the room to drink, and you are extremely limited on choice by doing so. Because of it, you end up buying some from the bar anyway because you now are a little looser with the purse strings. There is definitely a mass disadvantage. The one advantage is it is kind of fun. It is also silly that you have the same wine rule for 3 day as 7+ day, when clearly the 3 day is better off there.

 

 

 

I took 2 Listerine bottles no problem onto Carnival Dream and also got some more in port (which is the safest way to do it) as you can carry your drink on board and you can get on and off as you please at non-tender ports.

 

 

 

You are always going to have the holier than thou chiming in. I haven’t smuggled any alcohol onboard yet, I almost did but got paranoid and left it in the car. This year I just preordered a liter of vodka at the ridiculously high price, but still a lot cheaper than the drinks package. I will still buy some drinks onboard and maybe someday I will have the ballz to try to slip some onboard. My wife doesn’t drink and the upcoming 10 day cruise would cost $1194 for the Cheers package. No way I’m paying that, when the whole cruise she may buy $50 tops in specialty coffee and I may spend $300 or so in drinks.

I can understand why the cruise lines make each person over 21 buy the package. It’s not so much if you can’t pay don’t play for me, it’s all about cost effectiveness and in my case the Cheers package is not cost effective.

 

 

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You are always going to have the holier than thou chiming in. I haven’t smuggled any alcohol onboard yet, I almost did but got paranoid and left it in the car. This year I just preordered a liter of vodka at the ridiculously high price, but still a lot cheaper than the drinks package. I will still buy some drinks onboard and maybe someday I will have the ballz to try to slip some onboard. My wife doesn’t drink and the upcoming 10 day cruise would cost $1194 for the Cheers package. No way I’m paying that, when the whole cruise she may buy $50 tops in specialty coffee and I may spend $300 or so in drinks.

I can understand why the cruise lines make each person over 21 buy the package. It’s not so much if you can’t pay don’t play for me, it’s all about cost effectiveness and in my case the Cheers package is not cost effective.

 

 

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Holier then thou has nothing to do with it. When I agree to the terms of a contract I make every attempt to comply and if complying is that difficult I don't sign. The drink prices on Carnival aren't all that outlandish- 5.50ish for a beer, 6 for a simple mixed drink, 9 for a frozen drink. There have been times where our budget wasn't as robust and I only had 3 drinks a day. I still had fun.

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Holier then thou has nothing to do with it. When I agree to the terms of a contract I make every attempt to comply and if complying is that difficult I don't sign.

 

Ah, and therein lies the "secret" of the whole thing! A contract with a cruise line is just like a contract with any other person or company. It is one entity giving their "word" that they will do what they have stated in that contract if the other entity goes by the rules set up in that contract. If you don't agree, then don't sign. It's just as if one of those entities leased/rented a living space to the other as long as they didn't, say, bring pets into that living space. The other party agrees and then brings a pet in. Only difference is you substitute a bottle of booze for a pet. One party doesn't keep their word.

 

Tom

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You are always going to have the holier than thou chiming in. I haven’t smuggled any alcohol onboard yet, I almost did but got paranoid and left it in the car. This year I just preordered a liter of vodka at the ridiculously high price, but still a lot cheaper than the drinks package. I will still buy some drinks onboard and maybe someday I will have the ballz to try to slip some onboard. My wife doesn’t drink and the upcoming 10 day cruise would cost $1194 for the Cheers package. No way I’m paying that, when the whole cruise she may buy $50 tops in specialty coffee and I may spend $300 or so in drinks.

I can understand why the cruise lines make each person over 21 buy the package. It’s not so much if you can’t pay don’t play for me, it’s all about cost effectiveness and in my case the Cheers package is not cost effective.

 

 

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I bought the Cheers package when on a bachelor party. Wasn't worth it for me, especially since I was sick half the time (have not had the same issue on other 2 cruises, so I don't think sea sickness was an issue). But it was tough, one person really wanted it, and so the other 3 of us who could live without it got roped into doing it. I also hate it because the bartender is better off serving a non-Cheers customer since 15% gratuity will be added to their drink, while a Cheers member may not pay because it was prepaid. I'd rather they just add the 15% to the value of every drink consumed (I tipped extra every single time though so I spent another $40ish).

 

My last cruise was NCL, and it was unlimited booze for the whole ship, which makes more sense if you want unlimited drinks and that was truly unlimited (unlike Carnival)

 

Holier then thou has nothing to do with it. When I agree to the terms of a contract I make every attempt to comply and if complying is that difficult I don't sign. The drink prices on Carnival aren't all that outlandish- 5.50ish for a beer, 6 for a simple mixed drink, 9 for a frozen drink. There have been times where our budget wasn't as robust and I only had 3 drinks a day. I still had fun.

 

I don't think the drinks at the bar are a massive ripoff (at least in comparison to resorts and nice restaurants, other than the cheap beer is only comparable to a sporting venue), and if they had happy hours it wouldn't be bad at all. The drink package is a ripoff (for anyone not drinking 10+ per day, which is hard to do when not drinking beer or shots). The in room pre-order is a massive ripoff. Malibu Rum is about $20 for a 1.75L bottle, but for my room it is $85/L? Jack Daniels at $95 is over $4 per typical shot. You are asking me to pay typical per shot bar prices for an entire bottle.

 

I'd rather they exclude the bottle of wine and the packs of soda and instead charge me half what they do for in room orders. When you consider what they sell for in the fun shops, it is clear they'd still be making a killing off of me. I'm sure Carnival has made projections, and it shows these are the price points they should use. I just wish they did it differently. So much of a cruise is excess that I don't need (food more than anything).

 

And it isn't about what I can afford, it is about being reasonable. I tip my porter, my servers, and my room attendant. If I wanted to be cheap, I wouldn't do that. I'd also have them remove the optional gratuity they add on at the end of the cruise.

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Ah, and therein lies the "secret" of the whole thing! A contract with a cruise line is just like a contract with any other person or company. It is one entity giving their "word" that they will do what they have stated in that contract if the other entity goes by the rules set up in that contract. If you don't agree, then don't sign. It's just as if one of those entities leased/rented a living space to the other as long as they didn't, say, bring pets into that living space. The other party agrees and then brings a pet in. Only difference is you substitute a bottle of booze for a pet. One party doesn't keep their word.

 

Tom

 

Pets have free will and can damage things. If it says no pets and you have a goldfish, that is cool. The contract isn't negotiable either, so I don't compare to when I negotiate with others.

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I didn't find this to be the case on our cruise out of Miami in 2017, or the one in 2016, or the one in 2014. My husband gets twist off red wine, fills it with rum, dyes it red, and buys the heat strink seals online to reseal the bottle. They've never scrutinized our wine bottles. They don't hold flashlights up to them. They look at the bottle to confirm it's a bottle that says wine or champagne, confirm that the seal is intact, and away we go. I guess New Orleans is much stricter than Miami or Port Canaveral.

 

New Orleans was not for me. Even though I was told to go to the security guy because of my soda and wine, he just told me to move on even though I was trying to show him. I've now gone out of NO, Canaveral, & Miami and security has never been strict.

 

What I will say, is I wouldn't get mad at the cruise line if I did get caught and they threw it away. That is the terms and the risk you take even though most people seem to to get it back at the end.

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Pets have free will and can damage things. If it says no pets and you have a goldfish, that is cool. The contract isn't negotiable either, so I don't compare to when I negotiate with others.

 

Yes, you're certainly correct in that there is a big difference between a negotiable and a non-negotiable contract. No doubt about that and no doubt that the contract you enter into with the cruise line is a non-negotiable one. However, nobody forces you or me or anybody else to sign up (unless we want to go on a cruise of course, which we obviously do keep coming back. :D) but, once we do we are legally and morally obligated to abide by the rules as is the cruise line. That said, let's note that there are some occasions when a cruise line falls through on their end too (such as changing the rules after the fact as is the case with the old (now) coffee cards and their expirations which they now have.) But one discussion at a time is enough, I'd think.

 

Anyway, I'm getting ready for my next cruise toward the end of Sept and want to just look foward to that.:D

 

Tom

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  • 4 weeks later...
I'm with you on the balcony drink thing (after all, I have to have something to do while the wife gets ready for dinner etc.). I have thrown a bottle or two in my suitcase a few times and only been caught once (New Orleans). And even then, they didn't get it all............lol. I went to the naughty room on the last day of the cruise with head held high and retrieved my still sealed bottles. They had a few bottles with no room numbers on them, but it was cheap crap or I would have taken that too..............lol. By far, the easiest and best deal was the drink package on Princess. It made it so much easier and enjoyable. Plus, I got to try some really nice drinks that otherwise I might have passed on because of the price. Since my wife does not drink, Carnivals policy of making both people in the room pay for the program makes it financially unattractive (I can drink that much, but none of you would want to be on the same boat with me..........lol). We have also paid full price for each drink on 1 cruise with no package and no smuggling. I'm not up for another $400 bar bill. On this next trip, I plan to toss a few small bottles (single drink size) to cover my balcony drinks. I'll pay for the rest of them.

 

JB

 

The miniatures worked great. Between my wife, daughter and son-in-law, we probably brought about 40 drinks on board. The Baileys made the buffet coffee drinkable and we all took Yetis for our mixed drinks. Wife brought her 12 pack of coke and I stole a few of them. If you are going to try the mini thing, do not be tempted to buy the "pocket shots". I bought about 20 of them and brought 19 home that are still sitting in the cabinet. Very bad liquor. You are better off finishing other peoples drinks that they leave in the casino. Be sure to remove the cigarette butts first.

 

This next cruise, I opted for the "all I can drink" package on RCI. We just had some extra money this trip and decided to treat ourselves.

 

JB

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it is nice to have the beverage package but $57 a day per person on an 8 day cruise is gouging to me.

 

You don't have to buy it, so adjust your drink budget accordingly. Of course if you only have 5 drinks of the day that's $51 per day with the tip included (and the $57 price you quote does include the gratuities). So if you actually drink more than that it's a great deal.

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Don't have to be hateful.... Your response was no help whatsoever. Just rude.
Not hateful. Not rude. Simply the truth. Malice can not reside in truth. Only in deceit and lies does malice reside... Fact[emoji848]

 

Lol it's hilarious when old threads get revived... Fact[emoji16]

 

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  • 4 weeks later...
20 hours ago, gakawgirl said:

will I be able to get a glass of water without being charged? I know you can purchase bottled water for your cabin. $4.50 a six pack. so that would be $18 a case. price gouging...surely not...

It's actually $4.50 for a 12 pack which is just a little more than what I can buy it for in my local store. Yes, regular water is free throughout the ship and you can even ask for a glass of ice water with lemon from any bar. The water from the spigots on the lido is put through an extra filtration process so it might be better than from your bathroom sink. Iced/hot tea, coffee, hot chocolate are also available at no charge throughout the day with milk and juice being available at meal time.

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5 hours ago, Booner231 said:

We put liquor in our two "wine" bottles that we were allowed on board.  A friend of ours bottles her own wine so she resealed it for us.  They were none the wiser!

I'm sure they are wise to the practice and if they think it that it is happening too much they will stop allowing people to bring wine onboard, just as they did with bottled water and soft-drinks.

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@sparks1093 Is it your job to just find people’s post and complain about their fun?  We snuck them in because I don’t drink. And we found it unfair that we both HAD to purchase the drink package. Their retort was “Well there are all kinds of other fun drinks you can enjoy that don’t have alcohol!”  I’m sorry, I don’t feel like fifty something dollars a day for a couple slushees is a fair price. And don’t give me that “if you can’t afford it, don’t travel” crap. That is the most unfair statement I’ve heard in a while. We don’t have a lot of money but we still save up and budget what we can so we can see the world as well. I encourage everyone to travel, as cheaply as you possibly can. So get off your high horse and have a little fun. Criminy 

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5 hours ago, Booner231 said:

@sparks1093 Is it your job to just find people’s post and complain about their fun?  We snuck them in because I don’t drink. And we found it unfair that we both HAD to purchase the drink package. Their retort was “Well there are all kinds of other fun drinks you can enjoy that don’t have alcohol!”  I’m sorry, I don’t feel like fifty something dollars a day for a couple slushees is a fair price. And don’t give me that “if you can’t afford it, don’t travel” crap. That is the most unfair statement I’ve heard in a while. We don’t have a lot of money but we still save up and budget what we can so we can see the world as well. I encourage everyone to travel, as cheaply as you possibly can. So get off your high horse and have a little fun. Criminy 

No, this is a public forum, there is no "finding" involved. So the cruise line requires both adults to purchase the plan, it's plainly obvious why they do that (and most do require it), but one must remember the drink package is being sold to make money for the cruise line, not to save you money (although it's a win/win if it does). To me it's a matter of budgeting for what I want to do. If I want to have 5 drinks a day I budget for 5 drinks a day, it's that simple. If I don't have the money for 5 drinks a day then I budget for what I have the money for. Reality can indeed be unfair, but if you can't afford to do something then it's probably best to wait until you can (and I've never seen anything anywhere that says you have to drink to travel, drinking is not a necessity). Cruise lines do modify their rules to limit smuggling and this affects other passengers. I enjoy the ability to bring on two bottles of wine and would hate to use it because someone wants to save a couple of bucks. (And in the past I have purchased a bottle of liquor from the cruise line to stretch our drink budget. It's pricier than what you'd pay ashore, for sure, but it still saves money.)

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7 hours ago, Booner231 said:

@sparks1093 Is it your job to just find people’s post and complain about their fun?  We snuck them in because I don’t drink. And we found it unfair that we both HAD to purchase the drink package. Their retort was “Well there are all kinds of other fun drinks you can enjoy that don’t have alcohol!”  I’m sorry, I don’t feel like fifty something dollars a day for a couple slushees is a fair price. And don’t give me that “if you can’t afford it, don’t travel” crap. That is the most unfair statement I’ve heard in a while. We don’t have a lot of money but we still save up and budget what we can so we can see the world as well. I encourage everyone to travel, as cheaply as you possibly can. So get off your high horse and have a little fun. Criminy 

 

Booner, I'm not singling you out (other than quoting you 😉 ), but you mention something that I see a lot and don't quite understand: the "unfair" complaint that all parties over 21 in a cabin must purchase Cheers if anyone purchases it.  I get wanting to get value for money spent (why Cheers doesn't work for many) and even the appeal of paying one price upfront so you don't have to think about drink costs or a bill at the end (even though several have stated they know they don't break even).  Where I get lost is why people think they HAVE to buy a package.  Drinks are sold a la carte, sometimes with a discount.  Carnival offers Cruise Cash, Cruise Bar Cash, and gift cards for those who want their purchases pre-paid but not at the cost of Cheers.  

 

If the cost of Cheers for your cabin will be close to or more than the amount your cabin will spend on drinks, get the package for everyone and the heavy drinker will balance out the light drinker.  If the cost is higher than the total cabin bill will be then pay a la carte.🙄

 

Obviously this reasoning doesn't apply  if the reason for smuggling is just wanting to "get away with" breaking the rules, or because you don't want to go the length of the cruise without your beverage of choice that the cruise line doesn't carry (like a high end Scotch).

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