Does RCCI really limit alcholic drinks

[Funky Face Painter, UK]

Wow, wish you were on our table, you must be very generous.... it must be rare for people to buy such 'rounds'. I suppose it's good that they have this in place though. It's the first time I have heard of drink restriction.:D

[bouhunter]

We cruised with someone two years ago who was probably drinking 15 beers a day(or more). On the second or third day his seapass failed to work and when he went to the desk they said it was being used to purchase so much beer at so many bars it was flagged as stolen and shut off:rolleyes: They gave him a new one and it worked for buying as much beer as he wanted for the rest of the week........

[curley23]

One may think that cutting folks off will be happening more and more, especially on ships where they are now really promoting families, and during summer as well as school vacation time when there are more kids on board.

They don't need the complaints by parents because some drunk may be roaming the ship acting like an idiot for all the kiddies to see at 4 in the afternoon.

Face it, times may be changing again, and those who like their alcohol may not want to be booking cruises when the ships are full of kids.

I know our next 2 cruises booked are on X. If I want to be around kids and families, I'll book DCL.

[MAZANDSTEVE]

Here is what I posted on the other thread:

 

The drinks that we purchased for our friends at dinner (18 total) were the only drinks that we bought that day. Neither of us had anything to drink prior to dinner and neither of us was exhibiting any signs of intoxication when we went to the lounge after dinner. I don't drink regularly, but 2 mixed drinks over a 1.5 - 2 hour period with dinner has very little affect on me, especially since RC does not mix their drinks very strong. My husband is 6'3" and weighs about 180 so 3 beers over that same period has no affect on him. We were not rude to the waiter when we explained that we had purchased most of the drinks for others. The waiter even said that we did not appear to have overindulged, but it was their policy to cut people off when they purchase too many drinks.

 

Usually 8-9 drinks (4 for me, 5 for him) is the most we buy, and that is usually over 3-4 hours during dinner and afterward. We've never had a problem being cut-off with that quantity.

 

 

To be honest, I think its discusting that they cut you off especially when buying drinks for others, surely a bit of discretion is needed in certain circumstances. If I were with my family, we no doubt would be buying most the drinks and would not be happy at all if they cut us off.

Its like being treated like a child again!!

[Cruzaholic41]

So it sounds like it everyone stays in reasonable limits and is not "drunk" we should be okay.

 

 

Yes, that's how it should always be.

[yogimax]

I'd be curious to know if this is handled differently by RCCL and Carnival.

[MAZANDSTEVE]

Why is it that people believe just because they are on a cruise ship and won't be driving that they can get drunk and shouldn't be denied bar service?

 

Drunk is drunk and most times goes hand in hand with obnoxious.;)

 

 

It sounds like they are denying people drinks even when they are not drunk.:confused:

And from my experience , it doesn't always have to be a drunk to be obnoxious.

[V n C]

Here is what I posted on the other thread:

 

The drinks that we purchased for our friends at dinner (18 total) were the only drinks that we bought that day. Neither of us had anything to drink prior to dinner and neither of us was exhibiting any signs of intoxication when we went to the lounge after dinner. I don't drink regularly, but 2 mixed drinks over a 1.5 - 2 hour period with dinner has very little affect on me, especially since RC does not mix their drinks very strong. My husband is 6'3" and weighs about 180 so 3 beers over that same period has no affect on him. We were not rude to the waiter when we explained that we had purchased most of the drinks for others. The waiter even said that we did not appear to have overindulged, but it was their policy to cut people off when they purchase too many drinks.

 

Usually 8-9 drinks (4 for me, 5 for him) is the most we buy, and that is usually over 3-4 hours during dinner and afterward. We've never had a problem being cut-off with that quantity.

 

Can't you just pay for drinks with cash if you so choose, or do you have to use your card?

[kyriecat]

To be honest, I think its discusting that they cut you off especially when buying drinks for others, surely a bit of discretion is needed in certain circumstances. If I were with my family, we no doubt would be buying most the drinks and would not be happy at all if they cut us off.

Its like being treated like a child again!!

If you stick to one bar, you might not have the problem since the server will realize that you are buying for others in your group. Our bar server in the dining room didn't hesitate to bring more drinks when we ordered them. I know my husband added some additional gratuity so that might have helped. Plus, the server saw how many people were drinking and how many drinks each of us had. At our table, some only had 1 drink while others had 2 or 3. No one had more than 3 drinks, and I think the ones that had 3 were all drinking beer. Three beers over 1.5 hours usually isn't enough to cause an adult to become drunk.

 

Hubby and I will sometimes buy one round for the table during a cruise (if we have a good group), but since it was our anniverary and we had a fantastic group at our table, we wanted to really celebrate with our new friends. Plus, two of the couples were on their honeymoon and another couple was getting married while onboard. We had some OBC from our TA to spend so buying drinks seemed like a good idea at the time. It was when we tried to order at another bar that we ran into the problems.

 

One way to get around the drink limit would be to register you and your travelling companion on separate credit cards. Since my husband and I both had our seapass cards linked to the same account, when his got cut off, mine did too. If we had used different credit cards for each seapass, I would have still been able to use mine. That's what the waiter in the Schooner Lounge told us. I haven't tried it personally since we don't normally buy that many drinks.

 

The restriction was lifted by dinner time the next evening. It might have been sooner, but we were gone on a tour all day and didn't try to purchase any alcoholic drinks until dinner time.

 

V n C - you buy everything onboard with your ship-issued card. No cash except for tips. Bar bills automatically add 15% for gratuity but the waiters/bartenders will accept extra in cash.

[Cruzaholic41]

I'd be curious to know if this is handled differently by RCCL and Carnival.

 

In my experience, no. Carnival has had a lot of bad publicity with man overboards the last few years. Thankfully, they have also cracked down on it.

[centurycruiser]

Usually 8-9 drinks (4 for me, 5 for him) is the most we buy, and that is usually over 3-4 hours during dinner and afterward. We've never had a problem being cut-off with that quantity.

 

I usually drink more than that in the concierge lounge!

[Retired LEO]

Can't you just pay for drinks with cash if you so choose, or do you have to use your card?

 

No, it's a cashless system. You must use your card for all purchases onboard the ship.

[aldewitt]

The only people I have ever seen cut off really needed it. They are usually pretty generous with the serving.

 

A word of advise though...if you do get cut off, don't let it "get ugly" as you put it. They will not hesitate to confine you to your rooms or kick you off the ship.

 

Aquahound, the same thing applies to getting drunk and having a fight with your spouse. We were on a Carnival cruise on the Elation out of Galveston a few years ago. From day 1 the couple next door were yelling at one another. Not the occasional bad word or two, we're talking a long string of high-volume epithets. On the fifth day of the cruise, after dinner, we heard what sounded like a remodeling project going on next door at about 11. The two alcoholics in the next cabin were on a real bender, and you could hear glass breaking, etc. After about 5 minutes, when one of them screamed, we called the pursers office and they came down and intervened, finding the cabin trashed, the TV busted, and the door to the balcony broken. We heard nothing more the next night, but early the next morning when we made our port call in Belize City they tendered the couple to the pier and tossed them off the boat. Good riddance to bad rubbish.

 

Frankly, you want them to control the drunks and the disorderly. Nothings worse than having your vacation spoiled by having to listen to fighting

[Havana Daydreamin]

A good solution...spend your drink money on shore and let the company suffer the loss of revenue.:rolleyes:

[BecciBoo]

The only people I have ever seen cut off really needed it. They are usually pretty generous with the serving.

 

A word of advise though...if you do get cut off, don't let it "get ugly" as you put it. They will not hesitate to confine you to your rooms or kick you off the ship.

 

I can confirm Paul's statement. We actually had a CC Meet and Mingle acquaintence who was cut off. In her case, it was very necessary. Only time I have noted that though. If your friends do not make a nuisance of themselves and become obnoxious enough to upset other guests, you'll be fine.

[jeast]

I think we would all agree that everyone has the right to consume whatever alcohol they want as long as their behavior doesn't get so out of hand that they are infringing on the enjoyment of those around them (screaming obscenities, aggressive behavior, etc.)

 

Also, having bartended before I can say that bartenders are legally held responsible for over-serving to the point where the customer is unable to use good judgement and may hurt himself or others. On land, that pertains to driving. At sea, bad judgement can also be fatal.

 

How many people have you read about jumping off a cruise ship that were sober? Not that many. Events at sea lists the circumstances of incidents where people fell or jumped overboard. In many instances, they were intoxicated. Driving is not the only danger to drunk people and those around them.

 

I like to have a few drinks, get a little tipsy, and have a great time when I cruise. I fully expect that, just like on land, if I get completely s***faced, the bartender will cut me off.

 

As to the poster that was complaining about the bartender cutting you off, it could have been a complete misunderstanding, or there could have been a whole other side to the story. There's no way for us to know. I would hope that if I were in the same situation, I would be slightly annoyed, but mature enough to laugh it off. No big whoop on a fantastic vacation to miss a couple of drinks one night. If it became a pattern throughout the week, that's another story! I like my wine!

[BecciBoo]

Aquahound, the same thing applies to getting drunk and having a fight with your spouse. We were on a Carnival cruise on the Elation out of Galveston a few years ago. From day 1 the couple next door were yelling at one another. Not the occasional bad word or two, we're talking a long string of high-volume epithets. On the fifth day of the cruise, after dinner, we heard what sounded like a remodeling project going on next door at about 11. The two alcoholics in the next cabin were on a real bender, and you could hear glass breaking, etc. After about 5 minutes, when one of them screamed, we called the pursers office and they came down and intervened, finding the cabin trashed, the TV busted, and the door to the balcony broken. We heard nothing more the next night, but early the next morning when we made our port call in Belize City they tendered the couple to the pier and tossed them off the boat. Good riddance to bad rubbish.

 

Frankly, you want them to control the drunks and the disorderly. Nothings worse than having your vacation spoiled by having to listen to fighting

That same situation happened to us on Majesty, I was afraid for the girls life, honestly, and called security. But we never heard another peep after security came. Since it was a 3 day cruise I don't think they were kicked off, but probably threatened. I had visions of the guy coming to our door to demand why we had complained:eek: It was that scary!