Why do you bring booze onboard?

[hubofhockey]

IMO, people "vacationing" with their children deserve the hard stuff. :D

 

But I am definitely checking into HAL itineraries for the future. If Carnival would see the light people wouldn't go to such lengths to bend their silly rules.

 

More than Carnival, it's the people here who post on the Carnival boards at cruise critic who believe there is something illegal or just not moral with bringing your own on. Carnival may be a little tighter than Princess. But believe me. You can bring your own on. Just put it in the checked luggage.

[Kaboochi]

The last 2 cruises (Celebrity and Carnival) allowed 1 bottle of wine pp. We are sailing RC in Feb and from what I have read on their site, no wine is allowed to be brought on board. Can anyone confirm this?

[Cruise Junky]

The last 2 cruises (Celebrity and Carnival) allowed 1 bottle of wine pp. We are sailing RC in Feb and from what I have read on their site, no wine is allowed to be brought on board. Can anyone confirm this?

 

Confirmed...they have the strictest policy at sea.

[StillPooh]

Good point :) But if I can get a bottle for my balcony, I'm happy :)

I'm slightly higher maintenance than you. Life's too short to drink cheap booze. ;)

 

We are sailing RC in Feb and from what I have read on their site, no wine is allowed to be brought on board. Can anyone confirm this?

RCI doesn't allow squat. :mad:

[TexasHorseLady]

More than Carnival, it's the people here who post on the Carnival boards at cruise critic who believe there is something illegal or just not moral with bringing your own on. Carnival may be a little tighter than Princess. But believe me. You can bring your own on. Just put it in the checked luggage.

 

I don't cruise Carnival or Princess, and I am not sure what that has to do with anything. But I can see their point.

You have to admit - anytime you do something totally sneaky and undercover in order to break some very clearly outlined rules...well then you're sort of in a gray area regarding what's legal and moral, don't you think?

I guess bottom line in my mind is this - Legal is whatever the cruiseline says is legal (it's their ship and their laws) and what is moral is simply whatever YOU feel is right or wrong.

[Cruise Junky]

I'm slightly higher maintenance than you. Life's too short to drink cheap booze. ;)

 

 

Don't count on it ;) I don't drink Vodka..Gin girl here :)

[Cruise Junky]

I

I guess bottom line in my mind is this - Legal is whatever the cruiseline says is legal (it's their ship and their laws) and what is moral is simply whatever YOU feel is right or wrong.

 

Now that's where I have an issue... the cruiseline can set their own RULES but not their own LAWS. Consuming alchohol is still legal if you're an adult. So let's not blur laws and rules ;)

[TexasHorseLady]

Now that's where I have an issue... the cruiseline can set their own RULES but not their own LAWS. Consuming alchohol is still legal if you're an adult. So let's not blur laws and rules ;)

 

I don't think anybody ever really thinks of smuggling booze on a cruiseship is technically 'unlawful'. Nobody's going to call the cops. It's the ship's rules we're talking about.

[Cruise Junky]

I don't think anybody ever really thinks of smuggling booze on a cruiseship is technically 'unlawful'.

 

Oh, you'd be surprised ;)

[StillPooh]

Favorite movie quote, from Terms of Endearment:

 

Garrett Breedlove: You're gonna need a lot of drinks.

Aurora Greenway: To break the ice?

Garrett Breedlove: To kill the bug you have up your ass.

 

:p

[rene194215]

I have to add my 2 cents in here. I like others have mentioned, like to have a drink before dinner as I am getting ready. So yes I do bring some with me. I do not really drink wine so in place of the wine that is allowed I bring a small amount of cocunut rum with me.

 

I understand the bottom line, but how is my having 1 drink going to hurt the cruise line? I buy almost every picture that is taken, buy drinks at dinner and then after in a lounge ot bar, spend money in the casino and go to the dinner club. I think all that certainly makes up for the 1 drink that I have in my cabin. Yes, they say you are not allowed, but if they wanted to adhere to the rules, they would take the alcohol out of you bag before sending your luggage to your room...

 

I know a couple whom likes to enjoy thier beverages and after a 7 day cruise had a bar bill of almost $2000.:eek: If you are able to then great but I am not in a financial place where I can do this. But I still have a couple each night anyhow. And as I mentioned above I spend my money elseware.

[upstate_italian]

That's almost like saying shoplifting is OK because the stores expect it...and raise their prices to compensate.

WOW, you don't even understand the concept of stealing.

 

Shoplifting/Stealing causes not only a denial of profit but a actual monetary loss by taking something that is not yours. BYOB only causes a denial of profit. You bought the booze at a store and are just denying the cruise lines a monopoly that they would like to control.

 

Just stop picking this thing apart, its just the way things work.

[kubarque]

Typically there are two reasons someone would sneak alcohol onboard a cruise ship. The first is because you would like to enjoy a drink in your stateroom without having to either order room service

Simple. It's the bottom line. The cruise lines make most of their revenue from: Booze, Gambling, Shore excursions, Spa treatments, On-board shops, Laundry and Tips. If someone wants to save a few buck on their cruise vacation by taking their favorite alcoholic beverages on board, it doesn't matter to me and more importantly, it’s none of my business!

 

We(ok I) bring our own wine aboard for a couple of reasons.

 

1) I only drink Thunderbird and the lines don't seem to have heard of it. So, for my upcoming 10 day cruise, I'll be lugging several 3 liter bottles of T-bird for my special palate. :rolleyes:

 

The second reason (and the real one) is to save money. We shop the supermarket specials, dept store and discount store sales and use coupons.

It is our way of "beating the system". If others are subsidising us, it is their choice. Let us look out for us, You look out for you. (Not speaking here to the poster I am responding to. I think we have similar beliefs)

 

BTW, I'm sailing on HAL so large quantities of own wine are allowed.

 

We never go to bars or nightclubs ashore and (for economical reasons) do not drink alcohol at restaurants.

 

We do not drink a lot at home (speaking more for her than for myself here) but we appreciate a drink or two by ourselves (and we enjoy the company and quiet) rather than go out to drink.

 

kubarque

[DizzyDallasDi]

HAL allows all the wine you can lug to be brought onboard. I've seen people pulling rolling luggage carts with several cases strapped to them. And, if you drink it in your cabin, there's no corkage charge. They will also sell you bottles of booze that you can enjoy in your room...for a very reasonable rate, IMO.

 

Since I have to fly to my debarkation ports, there's no way I'm going to pack a bottle of booze in my luggage. And, having the cabbie stop on the way to the port to buy some and pack it away just seems like silliness to me. How much booze can one consume, anyway? And, this is coming from someone who consumes more than her fair share, believe me. :D

 

I think those who smuggle liquor in their luggage get a thrill out of getting away with it. It probably makes them feel lilke teenagers again. I guess whatever makes you feel young and foolish is worth it to some folks. I'll just buy mine onboard and not worry about breakage in my luggage or any of the other ramifications.

 

Diane

[zacc]

Yes, but ultimately those who do smuggle drinks on board affects the costs of those who don't.

By impacting into the profit margin per capita the shipping lines then have to increase their basic cruise cost to cover the reduction in expenditure of those who do smuggle.

 

If you get what I mean

 

You are joking right!?! If I had to worry about the cost of the 5 or 6 drinks I have in my cabin then the fact is I probably couldn't afford the cruise to begin with. If someone really thinks that is the case would they offer to pay my bar tab on my upcoming cruise? For many it has nothing to do with "saving $" but the ability to enjoy a drink without running for, or waiting for it. If you think those who take a bootle or two on with them affect your cost then how about those who only drink soda, or who "share" a soda card, or better yet those who only drink what is free?

[Cruise Junky]

Yes, but ultimately those who do smuggle drinks on board affects the costs of those who don't.

By impacting into the profit margin per capita the shipping lines then have to increase their basic cruise cost to cover the reduction in expenditure of those who do smuggle.

 

If you get what I mean

 

Hog wash! I've seen lots of people who have onboard bills of less than $5 before the tips were added. I'll guarantee you that anyone that brings a bottle on board still buys drinks in bars and still orders wine with dinner. It's the non-drinkers they have to get the revenue from.

[StillPooh]

Hog wash! I've seen lots of people who have onboard bills of less than $5 before the tips were added. I'll guarantee you that anyone that brings a bottle on board still buys drinks in bars and still orders wine with dinner. It's the non-drinkers they have to get the revenue from.

Thank you! I fully expect that we will have a minimum $500 bar tab for the week, just with one bottle of wine at dinner and each of us having a couple of drinks per day.

 

And we've already signed up for $800 in shore excursions.

 

Carnival isn't gonna go broke from us having a few glasses or wine on our balcony. :rolleyes:

[Leafpeeper]

Many cruiselines allow one bottle of wine per person. We usually bring wine to enjoy on our balcony before dinner.

 

RCCL allows our TA to order a LaTerre Merlot or Chardonnay for our cabin at about $12 per bottle, so we usually request a couple bottles for our cruise.

 

I think all cruiselines should allow guests to bring one bottle of wine per person onboard. NCL charges a corkage fee for any bottle brought onboard, which seems reasonable too.

 

Between the welcome aboard party, captains party, prior guests party, etc, we get plenty of free cocktails on our cruises.

 

NCL had a great 2 for 1 martini hour on our last cruise. That was lots of fun in addition to the martini clinic, margarita clinic, wine tasting and even beer tasting.

 

Many passengers spend alot of money on alcohol and others spend it shopping and others spend it in the casino or on bingo. Whatever it is that you enjoy on your cruise, you should budget for it and enjoy your cruise as much as possible.

 

Some people will always try to smuggle booze onboard. I think it is a challenge for some people. Others simply pack it and hope it is not noticed. NCL is very careful inspecting for alcohol so it is not easy smuggling booze onboard their ships. I suggest paying the $15 corkage fee and bringing on several bottles of good wine. We don't drink enough to make it worth the effort.

 

DH can buy a beer for a buck in St. Marten and in Mexico so we take advantage in port before heading back onboard. Grand Cayman on the other hand is very expensive. Drink on the ship.

[Leafpeeper]

Thank you! I fully expect that we will have a minimum $500 bar tab for the week, just with one bottle of wine at dinner and each of us having a couple of drinks per day.

 

And we've already signed up for $800 in shore excursions.

 

Carnival isn't gonna go broke from us having a few glasses or wine on our balcony. :rolleyes:

 

Carnival allows each guest to bring one bottle of wine or champagne onboard. Just make sure your friends or relatives who don't drink wine each carry one bottle on for you. It took DH awhile to understand why I made all the beer drinking men carry on a bottle of wine for the women. My favorite song is "Red Red Wine."

[StillPooh]

Carnival allows each guest to bring one bottle of wine or champagne onboard. Just make sure your friends or relatives who don't drink wine each carry one bottle on for you."

My husband and I both drink. Two bottles would be gone in at most two days.

[Leafpeeper]

One of the most interesting things on cruise critic is the different attitudes of bringing your own booze aboard. On the Carnival threads, they call it "smuggling" and many users of that board get on their soap box to tell others how evil they are for doing it. On the Princess board, they tell you the best way to get your alcohol on board. In any case, I do it to enjoy beer (my own favorites) and cocktails on the balcony. I don't bring any with me to the pool or dinner. However, Princess has a "guideline" of one bottle of wine per passenger. But they allow more and have allowed passengers to bring bottles from ports. I think on my next cruise which starts in Venice, I'll pick up some Moretti and bring it on in my checked luggage. That will be a treat on the cruise. I'll get the allowable wine in Venice as well.

 

When we were boarding Crown Princess, my DD and SIL were having their carryons xrayed ahead of us. I noticed one of the guys scanning look at the other guy and laugh and say, "Looks like a fun party in their cabin tonight." As previously stated, Princess doesn't hassle guests for carrying on alcohol. It all depends on the cruiseline. BTW, my DD and SIL don't drink much alcohol so I was happy there was extra for me and Grampa to enjoy on our balcony. Life is too short these days to worry about anything.

[Leafpeeper]

The last 2 cruises (Celebrity and Carnival) allowed 1 bottle of wine pp. We are sailing RC in Feb and from what I have read on their site, no wine is allowed to be brought on board. Can anyone confirm this?

 

RCCL does allow your TA to order LaTerre Merlot or Chardonnay at $12 per bottle--anyways that is what my TA paid last year. We had 3 bottles waiting when we got to our cabin.

[Putterdude]

I'll guarantee you that anyone that brings a bottle on board still buys drinks in bars and still orders wine with dinner.

 

We are one of those couples and yes like you are OBA runs about $100 per day....the cruise lines do just fine by us. But I am getting a real kick out of this thread, lets hear more.:D

[hubofhockey]

I don't cruise Carnival or Princess, and I am not sure what that has to do with anything. But I can see their point.

 

You have to admit - anytime you do something totally sneaky and undercover in order to break some very clearly outlined rules...well then you're sort of in a gray area regarding what's legal and moral, don't you think?

 

I guess bottom line in my mind is this - Legal is whatever the cruiseline says is legal (it's their ship and their laws) and what is moral is simply whatever YOU feel is right or wrong.

 

I drive over the speed limit on occasion too. ;) Everyone has his own moral compass. I guess to me it's more like driving the prevailing speed limit on the roads. If everyone is going 65 on a 55 mph highway, my moral compass doesn't move when I drive with the traffic. If the cruiselines really wanted to enforce this one and were serious about it, I wouldn't bring my own. There is no grey area for me. This one is pretty black and white as the lines I go on go out of their way to look the other way.

[sapper1]

People smuggle liquor on board because they like to cheat the line.

They think that saving a few dollars justifies their not living up to the terms of the contract they entered into when they booked their passage.

 

I'm sure I'll get flamed as some sort of objectional character; but the plain fact is that people smuggle because they are self-absorbed and do not believe that rules they do not like should apply to them.

No flames here. You are bang on in your assessment. Smuggling booze is so "high school".

You do not sound objectionable-- you sound like just a very moral person.