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Sneaking alcohol on Carnival Dream??


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If you put it in carryon, you will likely be taken aside during the security check and asked to open your bag(s) so they can find and remove the alcohol. Checked luggage containing what might be alcohol is sent to the "naughty room". You will receive a phone call or note in your cabin asking you to come to the room to open your bag(s).

 

Not worth the hasssle

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Bring the bottle wine each adult is allowed and don't forget the 12 pack of sodas you can bring onboard as well. The sodas are not alcohol related but it may free up a little extra cash for a few drinks. I know all too well that things come up unexpectedly that cuts into the vacation budget. Just doing those 2 things alone will save you quite a bit of cash.

 

 

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Just do a search for "rum runners on a cruise" on Google and you will find what you need. Too many do-gooders here to get anything but hatred. Good luck and see you next weekend on the Dream!!

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Just do a search for "rum runners on a cruise" on Google and you will find what you need. Too many do-gooders here to get anything but hatred. Good luck and see you next weekend on the Dream!!

 

Carnival has changed their policy regarding what beverages may be carried on because of smugglers so it's not surprising that people don't feel good about people that do that. (And I know it's an unpopular view but if I can't afford to buy something then I don't buy it.)

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Alcohol WILL be found on checked luggage as it happened to me. I wasn't trying to sneak it in, but a sister put it in my luggage when she bought she was putting it in hers (lol, her words - however we were rushing and have the same luggage). When we got on board and to our rooms I opened my luggage and I had a nasty note regarding the bottle. When the cruise was over you had to go to this private area with your nasty note to come get your alcohol stowaway. Of course I made my sister go grab HER bottle and of course I got a few free drinks out of her for being so stupid thinking she could get away with it so all ended up being a story for these past few years. As for trying to sneak alcohol in with various other things like mouthwash bottles or something else, they catch that too. We saw many things when going to pick up my sisters bottle of wine.

 

At check in they really scrutinize the bottles you're allowed to bring on board. It's a process that is secured quite well. So bite the bullet and bring what you can and pay for he rest. [emoji51]

 

 

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I've done extensive reading through the webs and can't decide if it is worth it. I imagine they will be speeding through luggage check and throwing our bags through X-rays. What exactly can be seen? Can I just use the beverage pouches lined against the edge of my suitcase?

 

We've done it several times and no issues what so ever!

However, with the beverage packages now we find it not worth the hassle! We don't spend a lot of time in our cabin so having to go back and forth for a drink was a pain! Good luck!

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  • 2 weeks later...
Bring the bottle wine each adult is allowed and don't forget the 12 pack of sodas you can bring onboard as well. The sodas are not alcohol related but it may free up a little extra cash for a few drinks. I know all too well that things come up unexpectedly that cuts into the vacation budget. Just doing those 2 things alone will save you quite a bit of cash.

 

A blanket statement like this is not always valid as policies about bringing on drinks, from water to wine vary from cruise line to cruise line. On Princess & Holland, for example, you can bring on a case or more of water, or soda, but don't try and bring a case of water onto a Carnival ship as it will be confiscated. Carnival used to allow cases of water, but they stopped allowing that right after the start of the cruise season last year (2016) apparently because too many people had been caught with bottles of water that had the water replaced with vodka and then the bottles resealed. Now they even confiscate bouquets of flowers that have been purchased at Pike Place Market! (Don't ask why, I have no idea.)

 

Tom

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A blanket statement like this is not always valid as policies about bringing on drinks, from water to wine vary from cruise line to cruise line. On Princess & Holland, for example, you can bring on a case or more of water, or soda, but don't try and bring a case of water onto a Carnival ship as it will be confiscated. Carnival used to allow cases of water, but they stopped allowing that right after the start of the cruise season last year (2016) apparently because too many people had been caught with bottles of water that had the water replaced with vodka and then the bottles resealed. Now they even confiscate bouquets of flowers that have been purchased at Pike Place Market! (Don't ask why, I have no idea.)

 

Tom

 

As an aside CCL doesn't allow bottled soda, either. Any beverage other than wine brought onboard must be in cans.

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  • 2 weeks later...

A trick that has grown immensely in popularity in recent years is replacing wine with liquor, using food coloring to disguise it as wine and re-corking/re-sealing the bottle. A few years ago, it was a little-known trick and easy to get away with. They used to glance at your wine bottles and nod, then usher you on through like herded cattle.

 

However, that was then and things are different. Thanks to folks all over social media sites sharing their booze-concealing products and techniques, pretty much all the tricks are now widely known by C&BP. They aren't stupid and they know how to research social media for tips.

 

I was on a cruise out of New Orleans a few weeks ago and it seemed as if they are on a warpath to catch people doing this now. Now, they take your wine bottles and shine flashlights through the liquid, tilt the bottle in all directions and shake it up to check the consistency, look for sediment, etc. They take your sodas out of their boxes and examine every single can. They meticulously search every carry-on piece you have with you.

 

I witnessed it on embarkation day, where it took my party 2 hours to get through security and onto the ship because people were getting so throughly searched. It was 90+ degrees that day and we had small kids with us. You do the math.

 

Security personnel have been trained to know what wine looks like vs liquor during these tests (I saw some of their training posters in a search area). They will confiscate anything even remotely suspicious in a heartbeat now. It means nothing to them to take your things. It would appear that the days of being able to get away with this are over. They're cracking down hard. I just wouldn't even risk it, TBH.

 

Also need to be considerate of other passengers who have to wait excessively long times in line while these raids take place.

 

 

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A trick that has grown immensely in popularity in recent years is replacing wine with liquor, using food coloring to disguise it as wine and re-corking/re-sealing the bottle. A few years ago, it was a little-known trick and easy to get away with. They used to glance at your wine bottles and nod, then usher you on through like herded cattle.

 

However, that was then and things are different. Thanks to folks all over social media sites sharing their booze-concealing products and techniques, pretty much all the tricks are now widely known by C&BP. They aren't stupid and they know how to research social media for tips.

 

I was on a cruise out of New Orleans a few weeks ago and it seemed as if they are on a warpath to catch people doing this now. Now, they take your wine bottles and shine flashlights through the liquid, tilt the bottle in all directions and shake it up to check the consistency, look for sediment, etc. They take your sodas out of their boxes and examine every single can. They meticulously search every carry-on piece you have with you.

 

I witnessed it on embarkation day, where it took my party 2 hours to get through security and onto the ship because people were getting so throughly searched. It was 90+ degrees that day and we had small kids with us. You do the math.

 

Security personnel have been trained to know what wine looks like vs liquor during these tests (I saw some of their training posters in a search area). They will confiscate anything even remotely suspicious in a heartbeat now. It means nothing to them to take your things. It would appear that the days of being able to get away with this are over. They're cracking down hard. I just wouldn't even risk it, TBH.

 

Also need to be considerate of other passengers who have to wait excessively long times in line while these raids take place.

 

 

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I agree with everything except your statement about CBP, they aren't the ones inspecting luggage prior to the cruise, that is cruise line security which in likelihood means folks contracted by the line or the port itself (although I'm sure CBP is familiar with all of the tricks, but if you are caught violating their rules you could find yourself facing a fine or jail time whereas violating the cruise line's rules results in confiscation of the hootch, which would be destroyed if in a container other than the original one).

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I agree with everything except your statement about CBP, they aren't the ones inspecting luggage prior to the cruise, that is cruise line security which in likelihood means folks contracted by the line or the port itself.

 

I don't know how it's done at other ports or other cruise lines but at Seattle for Pier 91 the non-carry-on luggage is scanned by longshoremen. If suspicious items are found, the bags are separated from other bags and turned over to ships security personnel who then notify the cruisers who own those bags to come to the security area on the ship where the bags are opened by the owners and the suspicious items inspected. On Princess & Holland-America contraband alcohol is confiscated. Wine is released to the cruisers if it's not in excess of the allowable 1 bottle. If it is in excess it is charged the corkage fee and released . How Carnival and other cruise lines deal with the bags, I do not know.

 

Tom

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Um we used rum runners and were fine. It if gets found I really don't care cause I put cheap stuff in them. All the hand slappers saying if you can't afford it don't go to them I say don't price gouge me on booze and I could afford it. Our baggage even had a NOTE in it that it was checked extra by security and guess what? All my alcohol STILL made it on LOL

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Um we used rum runners and were fine. It if gets found I really don't care cause I put cheap stuff in them. All the hand slappers saying if you can't afford it don't go to them I say don't price gouge me on booze and I could afford it. Our baggage even had a NOTE in it that it was checked extra by security and guess what? All my alcohol STILL made it on LOL

 

Yes, saying if you can't afford it don't go is extreme. Better to say if you can't afford it adjust you onboard budget.

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Me and my travel partner went to different lines when boarding and each had two bottles of wine with no questions asked when the limit was one each. I've never had anyone even ask me to see my wine or champagne. It's always in my carry on.

 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

I like convenience. I like to have a drink on my Balcony. I'm not going to leave my cabin, run up to a bar, get my drink, return to the cabin, sit back down in my Chair on my Balcony only to have a watered down ice melted drink. And what if I want another? I've always taken a couple of small bottles for the room. Only time I've had a issue was when the DW tossed four miniatures into the luggage for me without telling me first. I bet those bottles shined like a flashlight on the x ray. The guy in the naughty room laughed and gave me my bag with the bottles inside and told me to have a nice cruise. I drink good booze. It's a couple of Pint Plastic Bottles with Plastic Caps. Most of the time I bring one unopened back home. If I could purchase a bottle for the room from the cruise ship I wouldn't bring my own.

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I like convenience. I like to have a drink on my Balcony. I'm not going to leave my cabin, run up to a bar, get my drink, return to the cabin, sit back down in my Chair on my Balcony only to have a watered down ice melted drink. And what if I want another? I've always taken a couple of small bottles for the room. Only time I've had a issue was when the DW tossed four miniatures into the luggage for me without telling me first. I bet those bottles shined like a flashlight on the x ray. The guy in the naughty room laughed and gave me my bag with the bottles inside and told me to have a nice cruise. I drink good booze. It's a couple of Pint Plastic Bottles with Plastic Caps. Most of the time I bring one unopened back home. If I could purchase a bottle for the room from the cruise ship I wouldn't bring my own.

 

I know that NCL and CCL sell bottles for the cabin on their website and CCL lets you order them onboard (as long as you are willing to wait in the cabin for it). They are pricey but it is nice to have in the cabin for a few drinks on the balcony (and it doe save money over buying individual drinks). ETA- I just checked the Royal website and they also sell bottles for the cabin.

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  • 2 weeks later...
I like convenience. I like to have a drink on my Balcony. I'm not going to leave my cabin, run up to a bar, get my drink, return to the cabin, sit back down in my Chair on my Balcony only to have a watered down ice melted drink. And what if I want another? I've always taken a couple of small bottles for the room. Only time I've had a issue was when the DW tossed four miniatures into the luggage for me without telling me first. I bet those bottles shined like a flashlight on the x ray. The guy in the naughty room laughed and gave me my bag with the bottles inside and told me to have a nice cruise. I drink good booze. It's a couple of Pint Plastic Bottles with Plastic Caps. Most of the time I bring one unopened back home. If I could purchase a bottle for the room from the cruise ship I wouldn't bring my own.

 

 

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

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I know that NCL and CCL sell bottles for the cabin on their website and CCL lets you order them onboard (as long as you are willing to wait in the cabin for it). They are pricey but it is nice to have in the cabin for a few drinks on the balcony (and it doe save money over buying individual drinks). ETA- I just checked the Royal website and they also sell bottles for the cabin.

 

RCL does also, in their Royal Gifts pages.

 

You have a choice of rum and Coke, gin and tonic (Bombay Sapphire), or scotch and something (Johnny Walker Red Label).

 

Just under $50 gets you a half bottle (375 ml) and 4 cans of mixer delivered to your cabin. Before sailing, except out of Texas.

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Probably not a good idea to wear one of these shirts while boarding. :')

 

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Doing a cruise later this year. I have purchased a drink package, but may still bring out a wee dram of the good stuff for evenings on the balcony.

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