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Smuggling on Booze.?.?

lucky 69

By lucky 69,
in Norwegian Cruise Line

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rusticfurnituremaker

rusticfurnituremaker

Posted
Posted

I have used rumrunners several times on NCL, RCL, Princess, and they have never been seen (or if they have, nothing has been done about it). They do not burst, but just in case, I put them in a large brining bag (like you would use to brine a turkey). Am I just lucky, maybe. There are so many people who use these and I never hear about problems with them from actual users on these boards. I guess people are just reluctant to post about it for fear of being flamed. Obviously, I do not share their fear.

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boozencruisen

boozencruisen

Posted
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I'm kind of curious what happens in the naughty room? Do you line up and go up one at a time to say which luggage is yours then empty it and check everything with a liquid? If you aren't worried about getting it back at the end of the cruise could you just take it out and throw it away in front of them so you don't have to wait (I'm guessing there is a line where they take your info so they can be sure the right person is getting the right booze back at the end of the cruise)? Do they take everything out of the bag or just root through it looking for liquids? Anyone been there care to talk about how it went down?

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cmyers

cmyers

Posted
Posted

On our last cruise we felt like we got a real bargain when we bought 4 bottles of rum on board really cheap and was told it would be delivered to our cabin on the last night. The liquor was delivered in a nice carry case. Now the problem.....It's the last night of your cruise and all your baggage has to be set outside and now the liquor arrives. You walk off the ship go to the airport where now you can't take the liquor on board or check it separately. My husband wasn't going to give up the booze and put it in our garmet bag. Yep! you got it - when we arrived we could not find the garmet bag as they had it in cased in blue plastic wrap as the bottles broke and soaked all my formal outfits.

Moral of story - don't buy the booze on board it's not cheap! Only buy booze in ports if you can have it shipped home.

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Tucker in Texas

Tucker in Texas

Posted
Posted
I have used rumrunners several times on NCL, RCL, Princess, and they have never been seen (or if they have, nothing has been done about it). They do not burst, but just in case, I put them in a large brining bag (like you would use to brine a turkey). Am I just lucky, maybe. There are so many people who use these and I never hear about problems with them from actual users on these boards. I guess people are just reluctant to post about it for fear of being flamed. Obviously, I do not share their fear.

 

Off topic, but where do you get brining bags?

 

Tucker in Texas

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lambs2

lambs2

Posted
Posted
Are they with the zip-locks, etc? I brine my turkey but put it in double garbage sacks in a cooler.

 

Tucker in Texas

 

I can't recall if the last time I purchased them was at Publix supermarket or at Walmart. They weren't hard to find, but may only be available seasonally?

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Tucker in Texas

Tucker in Texas

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Probably right about seasonally. We don't have Publix here but, of course, we have WalMart. The whole world has WalMart. I'll be on the lookout for them next year. Won't need them Thanksgiving because we leave Thanksgiving morning for a trans-Atlantic cruise. See, I sorta brought this around to cruising (lol)

 

Tucker in Texas

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*Wink*

*Wink*

Posted
Posted
I'm kind of curious what happens in the naughty room? Do you line up and go up one at a time to say which luggage is yours then empty it and check everything with a liquid? If you aren't worried about getting it back at the end of the cruise could you just take it out and throw it away in front of them so you don't have to wait (I'm guessing there is a line where they take your info so they can be sure the right person is getting the right booze back at the end of the cruise)? Do they take everything out of the bag or just root through it looking for liquids? Anyone been there care to talk about how it went down?

They ask you to show them what they think they saw on xray. It's not an elaborate search, and you're the only one allowed to touch your items.

 

Some folks will pull out their bottle of booze, and "forget" about the other one buried under their jammies. ;)

 

The staff probably hate the process more than you do. They could care less if you're smuggling.

 

Keep that in mind. In most cases, it's the "obvious" shapes that are in question. It's not like they have the time or the concern to sniff out your booze.

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newmexicoNita

newmexicoNita

Posted
Posted
Let's take a look at all of the worms that were in the can you just opened...:rolleyes:

 

 

For starters, I can't help but notice that you are sailing on the Dawn Princess. Its not that you're not welcome here (which you are), but you do realize that this is the NCL board and not the Princess board, right?

 

As to how hard it is....well, that depends on how hard they look. You will get as many opinions as there are people to give them.

 

On NCL, they will take the booze and hold it until the end of the cruise. Anything you buy in the duty free shops will likewise be held until the end of the cruise.

 

 

Just an aside. I notice from looking at your post that I can see where you are from (Manville, NJ). Additionally, I can see which ship you are sailing on along with the date of your sailing from your countdown clock. Armed with this basic information it wouldn't take a computer genius to search a ships manifest to identify who exactly you might be...a great way for the cruise line to identify which luggage to really scan extra carefully...and the cruiselines DO read these boards.

 

If I were planning on smuggling alcohol, I certainly wouldn't advertise my intentions! ;)

 

very good observations: keep the mouth shut and make sure you are posting on the correct board...LOL

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newmexicoNita

newmexicoNita

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The rum runners are hard to detect. But about 6 months ago, there was a rash of posts here saying NCL found them anyway. Lately, haven't heard anything more. Get the bar set up, one less headache. Selling booze is how the lines make money, so if they don't make money on the booze, they have to cut things, or raise fares.

 

Don't worry, NCL isn't the CIA... They aren't going to compare your info here against their manifest. Knowing NCL, they probably have neither the time or knowledge to do that.

 

I do agree, it is so tempting to do the rum runner thing, but to us anymore, if we are going to spend a couple of grand or more on a cruise, what is another $60 or so?

 

Nita

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rusticfurnituremaker

rusticfurnituremaker

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I do agree, it is so tempting to do the rum runner thing, but to us anymore, if we are going to spend a couple of grand or more on a cruise, what is another $60 or so?

 

Nita

Nita: Actually,,,On our last transatlantic plus cruise (23 days) we calculated how much we saved: Just a tad more than 60.

 

We both drink around 3 drinks per day. So, 6 drinks per day times $8.00 times 23 equals $1104.00. Not a drop in the bucket for most travelers. Don't worry about the cruise line, we MORE than gave our share back in casino losses, wine with dinner, very generous tipping above the calculated amount, and store purchases onboard.

 

As for the brining bags, I get them at Williams Sonoma or at the grocery store when I see them. They are also available online at many places. I, too, tried just using double ziplocks when I did my turkeys, but they leaked over time. The brining bags are so thick with very industrial type "locks" that they can hold up under more wear and tear than you can imagine.

 

Would I bother with the rum runners for a short cruise? Probably not, but I really enjoyed being able to spend another 1000.00 on shore excursions, etc.

 

My cruise, my choice. My responsibility if "caught".

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dwhist

dwhist

Posted
Posted
I'm kind of curious what happens in the naughty room? Do you line up and go up one at a time to say which luggage is yours then empty it and check everything with a liquid? If you aren't worried about getting it back at the end of the cruise could you just take it out and throw it away in front of them so you don't have to wait (I'm guessing there is a line where they take your info so they can be sure the right person is getting the right booze back at the end of the cruise)? Do they take everything out of the bag or just root through it looking for liquids? Anyone been there care to talk about how it went down?

 

 

My wife and I went to the naughty room on one of our cruises. Turned out to be a fun time. We lined up to go in the room and enjoyed talking to others in the line. Found it interesting while waiting to go in, a staff person was going down the line handing out a flyer advertising the free liqour tasting event that evening in the duty free shop. Of course we started the rumor it was with out liqour.

 

They were handeling 3 people at a time and when they took you in they asked you to open your luggage and asked you to take out any bottles. People next us were mad as all they had was a bottle of shampoo and they had to go through all of this for naught. In ours was a bottle of TGIF pre mixed drink. The youg fellow we were dealing with took it over to an older gentilman who studied tha bottle and then gave it back to him. He came back over and gave us the bottle and said we could go.

 

Note out of 4 cruises, only 1 trip to naughty room, but it has been 2 years.

 

Hope this helps.

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newmexicoNita

newmexicoNita

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Nita: Actually,,,On our last transatlantic plus cruise (23 days) we calculated how much we saved: Just a tad more than 60.

 

We both drink around 3 drinks per day. So, 6 drinks per day times $8.00 times 23 equals $1104.00. Not a drop in the bucket for most travelers. Don't worry about the cruise line, we MORE than gave our share back in casino losses, wine with dinner, very generous tipping above the calculated amount, and store purchases onboard.

 

As for the brining bags, I get them at Williams Sonoma or at the grocery store when I see them. They are also available online at many places. I, too, tried just using double ziplocks when I did my turkeys, but they leaked over time. The brining bags are so thick with very industrial type "locks" that they can hold up under more wear and tear than you can imagine.

 

Would I bother with the rum runners for a short cruise? Probably not, but I really enjoyed being able to spend another 1000.00 on shore excursions, etc.

 

My cruise, my choice. My responsibility if "caught".

 

I don't really care who smuggles booze on, I was referring to the basic 7 day cruise. so you are on a longer cruise, buy 3 or 4 bottles or smuggle if you want just so you drink your smuggled booze in your cabin. My problem is with people who do get away with smuggling then carry their drinks around the ship with them. Opinion only, but I think it is cheap and tacky..Oh, and I don't know what you drink but $8.00. I drink wine, usually house and it runs about $5.50 to $6.00 a glass plus 15% and hubby drinks scotch on the rocks, about th same, so it isn't quite $8.00 but who is counting...?? again, I have no problems with people drinking their own booze in their cabin. In fact I wish the stupid cruise line would allow us a bottle or two. As for you supporting the casino, that is an individual thing. Not everyone does spend money in the casino..

 

Nita

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newmexicoNita

newmexicoNita

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I was thank you very much.....:mad:

 

mellow out, I was just agreeing with the poster: it is best not to let everyone know how you smuggle (I wasn't referring to you) and I was also referring to the correct ship as someone thought you had said the Dawn Princess...No need to get defensive. I am sorry if I upset you, that was not my intentions. I was making light of this whole thing. But to be honest, it is a good idea for everyone who wants to smuggle to do it thier own way and not broadcast it. the cruise lines do read CC quite often.

 

NIta

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