I see now why people sneak alcohol on the ship

I am taking my first cruise later this month with my mom. Neither of us are big drinkers so getting a drink package is not worth it. We still want alcohol though. Mom likes wine so she is covered but I don't like wine. For Smirnoff or Absolut the cruise website wants double what I normally pay. They want $32.50 for a 6 pack of Bud Light. There is some good news though the 15% service charge is included in the price.:rolleyes: Thank goodness neither of us are alcoholics.:D

Let me see.

You live in Las Vegas and you are claiming the the cruise lines are charging you double what you pay in Vegas?

Last year, I paid $20 for a bottle of Bud and a glass with pineapple juice with Captain Morgan's at MGM

That doesn't include the $200 bottle of Bud that was comped while playing the $ slots

Let me see.

You live in Las Vegas and you are claiming the the cruise lines are charging you double what you pay in Vegas?

 

Last year, I paid $20 for a bottle of Bud and a glass with pineapple juice with Captain Morgan's at MGM

Whenever I go to Vegas, but I also like Reno, I never pay for a drink. Never had! I play quarter Blackjack at Golden Nugget in Vegas & Harrah's or El Dorado in Reno. Drinks have always been free! On ships, I have the drink package! Cheers!

I very rarely go drinking on the strip and hardly gamble either. Locals tend to stay away from the strip. We know where to get decent priced drinks off strip. :D I like to go to PT's or Blue Martini during their happy hour. No doubt you will pay dearly on the strip. I personally even though I live in Vegas am not use to paying those high prices.

Which ship are you sailing? I know Princess will allow 1 bottle of wine per person to be brought on board (no fee) but needs to be consumed in the cabin. However, nobody will stop you from filling your glass up and leaving your cabin. Norwegian I believe is $15 fee per bottle which can be taken to dinner. At any rate you could bring a bottle or two to cover your mom's wine. For other alcohol you can seek out 2 for 1 specials on board. Booze isn't cheap on board but there are ways other than sneaking it on.

Whenever I go to Vegas, but I also like Reno, I never pay for a drink. Never had! I play quarter Blackjack at Golden Nugget in Vegas & Harrah's or El Dorado in Reno. Drinks have always been free! On ships, I have the drink package! Cheers!

I'm calling BS

If you've ever gambled in a casino, you paid dearly for those comped drinks.

My $20 example was when I paid cash for a couple of drinks while waiting to check into the MGM.

That $200 bottle of Bud was a comp beer I ordered while playing the dollar slots. Put in a Benjiman, order the free drink, pull the handle, win $100,,,, by the time my free comped drink was delivered,,, all $200 was gone.

My wife doesn't even like beer but I had to have her try that free $200 beer.

If you go to any nice restaurant or club, you will pay more per drink than the cruise lines charge.

I agree with Paul. I don't pay double on a cruise ship for the same drink I order in a nice restaurant in Nashville. What cruise line/ship are you sailing?

Roz

We've never found the cost of drinks on the ship to be any more expensive than they are at resorts and decent restaurants at home.

You probably don't sneak booze into a restaurant at home so why do it on a ship! :rolleyes:

$5.50 for a bud, where I live, is cheap. A glass of house wine ranges from $7 - $10 (unless you venture to the city, where you are looking at $15).

We pay about $3.75 -$4 for a domestic beer at home. In our vacation spot, we pay $2-3.50 for domestic beer. Usually around $4 for mixed drinks. The ships prices are BEYOND normal mark-up...it's gouging!

As far as paying high prices in a nice restaurant...you are there for a couple hours...not for an entire week!

Wow! $4 for a mixed drink...you're getting a bargain.

Roz

We pay about $3.75 -$4 for a domestic beer at home. In our vacation spot, we pay $2-3.50 for domestic beer. Usually around $4 for mixed drinks. The ships prices are BEYOND normal mark-up...it's gouging!

Those prices are about a third of the normal prices where I live.

Wow! $4 for a mixed drink...you're getting a bargain.

 

Roz

I agree. I've not paid less than $7 to $8 for a mixed drink at a nice bar/restaurant. I'd sure like to know where she gets a mixed drink for $4? Maybe at a cheap buffet?

We've never found the cost of drinks on the ship to be any more expensive than they are at resorts and decent restaurants at home.

You probably don't sneak booze into a restaurant at home so why do it on a ship! :rolleyes:

Absolutely agree. And there is no correlation between what you might pay at a casino, and what you might pay on a cruise ship.

We pay about $3.75 -$4 for a domestic beer at home. In our vacation spot, we pay $2-3.50 for domestic beer. Usually around $4 for mixed drinks. The ships prices are BEYOND normal mark-up...it's gouging!

 

As far as paying high prices in a nice restaurant...you are there for a couple hours...not for an entire week!

When I read this I thought I was a time warp and back in 1984.

Wow! $4 for a mixed drink...you're getting a bargain.

 

Roz

There isn't even a dive bar near me where you could get a $4 mixed drink, maybe $6 for s happy hour special.

We've never found the cost of drinks on the ship to be any more expensive than they are at resorts and decent restaurants at home.

You probably don't sneak booze into a restaurant at home so why do it on a ship! :rolleyes:

Resorts and hotels allow you to drink your own stuff in your room. we smuggled for decades ( without being caught) , we now normally cruise rccl which allows 2 bottles of wine without corkage fee and we now buy the drink package. Also agree prices are not bad on ship we go to NYC every year and that cost way more than any ships we have cruised.

i think most peoples shock comes from paying for a whole weeks bar tab all at once.LOL

I wouldn't even consider myself living in a big city with Pittsburgh, and the prices on the ship aren't much more than what you pay going out to a chain restaurant here.

Unless you are getting happy hour prices, then you are looking at $4-6 a beer, and $9-12 for a mixed drink. And that isn't even the more special places! By where my DH works, there is a restaurant that specializes in beers, including having their own Belgian brew just for them imported on tap. They advertise their "Beer Baskets" around holidays especially Christmas time on their sign we drive past constantly , starting at the cheap cheap price of $65 for a 6 bottle basket! :rolleyes: From what my DH's co-workers say, the average price over the board for the 250+ beers they sell, is in the range of $10 each, but you can get your Bud Light for only about $6 there. This is from a city where the cost of living is about 10% lower than the national average.

There are always options. You could take the one me and my DH choose. In 5 cruises since I was 21, I have ordered 3 drinks the whole time. My DH hasn't ordered a single one. When we did drink, it was in port and was included in where we went (all inclusive beach resorts and the like). We have actually spent more cash on specialty coffee's during cruises than alcohol. Then again it is something we are used to everyday that normally doesn't cost us because we make them at home.

I am taking my first cruise later this month with my mom. Neither of us are big drinkers so getting a drink package is not worth it. We still want alcohol though. Mom likes wine so she is covered but I don't like wine. For Smirnoff or Absolut the cruise website wants double what I normally pay. They want $32.50 for a 6 pack of Bud Light. There is some good news though the 15% service charge is included in the price.:rolleyes: Thank goodness neither of us are alcoholics.:D

How much did your room/service/food cost, yes be thankful that your habits aren't as expensive and others fund your vacation :D

How much did your room/service/food cost, yes be thankful that your habits aren't as expensive and others fund your vacation :D

You are making some huge assumptions. I am funding this vacation 100%.:rolleyes:

"I see now why people sneak alcohol on the ship"

Really, only now? You didn't realize that people were cheating the cruise line by violating the agreed upon terms of the contract? You didn't realize that the price of the cruise is less than it might be because alcohol is a substantial profit center for the cruise line? Perhaps the cruise lines would have lower prices for alcohol except they do have to compensate for the cheaters.

You are making some huge assumptions. I am funding this vacation 100%.:rolleyes:

Doesn't 100% of the cost of a cruise include the cost of the drinks consumed on that cruise?

We pay about $3.75 -$4 for a domestic beer at home. In our vacation spot, we pay $2-3.50 for domestic beer. Usually around $4 for mixed drinks. The ships prices are BEYOND normal mark-up...it's gouging!

 

As far as paying high prices in a nice restaurant...you are there for a couple hours...not for an entire week!

Agreed. Its a total rip off. The lines are serving liquior duty free so their margins are even higher than the land based taverns. Some of the lines allow you to buy liquior for your stateroom before you board. I did this with NCL and PCL. RCL doesn't have this.