attention - potential smugglers on Oasis

[snorkelman]

I have managed to bring alcohol on 25 cruises with no problems. However, the Oasis thwarted my efforts last week (first week of October 2010). Without getting into details, they apparently xray every single bag that goes on the ship (even the stuff you drop with the porter) and they mark bags with a "LIQ" if it appears to contain liquor, and separate markings for other contraband (mainly irons).

 

FWIW, they crew claim that the ship doesn't x-ray the stuff, but that it is "customs" but I don't see why customs would have any interest in whether alcohol is brought on-board s cruise ship, so this is either complete fabrication or else the cruise line has some sort of deal with customs when xraying to allow the cruise staff to watch and mark suspected alcohol bags.

 

My advice is to not even bother trying to smuggle alcohol onto the Oasis - at least not in its original container. This time all I had was one single bottle of wine. No other alcohol. I did not use Rum Runners, so perhaps that method might still work.

[ChipLondon]

I would certainly agree that on The Oasis they are a lot stricter, on our recent cruise, I saw 40-50 irons / kettles that had been kept aside for collection at the end of the cruise.

[tikimon]

Had a friend 2 weeks ago that sailed Oasis (1st cruise) and was sucessful in getting his liquor onboard in his checked luggage with no problems what so ever.

[uksimonusa]

Why are people so suprised that they xray bags. What would be the point of xraying your carry on bags, if they were just going to let checked bags onboard with no xray? This has been happening since 9/11, the alcohol and irons etc they find is just an added bonus, its the guns and explosives they are looking for. A floating hotel with as many as 8000 people onboard makes a good target.

[billie5]

I also find it strange that anyone would be surprised by the fact that all bags are xrayed. Even stranger from OP, who is an experienced cruiser and CCer. :confused: Still, 25 and 1 is a great record. :)

 

Bill

[closecruiser]

IRONS.......What don't people understand about that!!!!

[regg1216]

Use rum runners. Sailed the Oasis twice and had no problem.

[SevenSeas1492]

Why are people so suprised that they xray bags. What would be the point of xraying your carry on bags, if they were just going to let checked bags onboard with no xray? This has been happening since 9/11, the alcohol and irons etc they find is just an added bonus, its the guns and explosives they are looking for. A floating hotel with as many as 8000 people onboard makes a good target.

 

 

 

Well said. I feel safer knowing that each bag is x-rayed. After spending thousands of dollars on the price of the cruise, I feel buying the drinks onboard is a small price to pay for a better peace of mind, given the threats of terrorism we hear about in the news all of the time. Do I like not being able to bring your own alcohol? No, but I can live with it, and it is the rule.

[yankeefanjenn]

6 days now until I sail away on the Oasis!!! What I usually do is get some bottles of water and place alcohol in them and then pack them! I've done this for a very long and have never gotten caught. You do have my attention because if I got caught, I'd be mad and I don't have a lot of money this cruise to spend so I am relying on my method! My friends were on the Oasis in June and what they did was put their alcohol in listerine bottles. I'm sure I'll be fine, but I second guess myself a lot so I'll be more cautious!

[Barnaby100]

IRONS.......What don't people understand about that!!!!

 

 

 

I think many people just don't know. If I hadn't read these boards before my 1st cruise I would have been unaware about irons or booze being banned.

[snorkelman]

Relax. I was not surprised that bags are x-rayed. I am just surprised that after 25 successful attempts, many of which were after 9/11, I have not had a single problem until this time.

 

Thanks for the comment about successfully getting rum runners through on the oasis. I will make sure to use that method on the Allure next year.

[cruiseguy1016]

Well said. I feel safer knowing that each bag is x-rayed. After spending thousands of dollars on the price of the cruise, I feel buying the drinks onboard is a small price to pay for a better peace of mind, given the threats of terrorism we hear about in the news all of the time. Do I like not being able to bring your own alcohol? No, but I can live with it, and it is the rule.

 

For some people (me) it is NOT about the cost. It is the convenience of being in your room and being able to have a drink without going out to get one. I would be willing to pay double or maybe even triple the cost of a bottle if they would let me have it in my cabin. I wish they would sell it on the ship (at an inflated cost if that's what they feel they need to do) and allow us to bring it to our cabins if we want.

[hetrickr]

For some people (me) it is NOT about the cost. It is the convenience of being in your room and being able to have a drink without going out to get one.

 

Isn't the issue really about control of who consumes alcohol on the ship? It may seem far fetched, but in todays society, who would get sued if a under age person became intoxicated and was seriously injured on the ship? All because someone was 'allowed' or 'permitted' to bring alcohol on board but then does nothing to control who consumes it. I'm certain that if it wasn't a primary concern they would gladly sell us a over priced bottle or two to consume anywhere you wanted on the ship. By banning passengers from bringing their own alcohol on board and effectively searching out the 'smugglers' would show they've made a deligent attempt to prevent consumption by minors and maybe even the adult or two that's had way too much already with no way to control additional consumption.

 

That's the reason I've always thought they restricted bringing your own or allowing you to have alcohol in your room.

[Tyron]

Relax. I was not surprised that bags are x-rayed. I am just surprised that after 25 successful attempts, many of which were after 9/11, I have not had a single problem until this time.

 

Thanks for the comment about successfully getting rum runners through on the oasis. I will make sure to use that method on the Allure next year.

 

 

i'm surprised you've been smuggling "bottles" or other original containers onboard and that your "surprised" you've finally been caught...:rolleyes:

[klingoncruiser]

6 days now until I sail away on the Oasis!!! What I usually do is get some bottles of water and place alcohol in them and then pack them! I've done this for a very long and have never gotten caught. You do have my attention because if I got caught, I'd be mad and I don't have a lot of money this cruise to spend so I am relying on my method! My friends were on the Oasis in June and what they did was put their alcohol in listerine bottles. I'm sure I'll be fine, but I second guess myself a lot so I'll be more cautious!

 

We at RCI thank you for letting us know your scam. We will be watching those water bottles and listerine from now on. :D

 

If you have something that works.... why on earth are you telling the world?:rolleyes:

[denamo]

We at RCI thank you for letting us know your scam. We will be watching those water bottles and listerine from now on. :D

 

If you have something that works.... why on earth are you telling the world?:rolleyes:

 

And RCCL knows who cruisers are if they are signing up for the M&M since it is required to use a reservation number. In this day of technology, it's just no longer possible to be invisible.

 

That being said, I'm sure RCCL already knows all the tricks. They've been at this a long time. It's just a matter of how closely the assigned person is looking at the screen as they xray. Some get luckier than others. I'm not a lucky duck, so for me, following what RCCL maps out as what I'm supposed to do as a cruiser is the best bet. :)

[Langley Cruisers]

You do have my attention because if I got caught, I'd be mad and I don't have a lot of money this cruise to spend so I am relying on my method!

 

:rolleyes:

 

My friends were on the Oasis in June and what they did was put their alcohol in listerine bottles.

 

That's truly disgusting. You know the taste stays with the bottle, right? Hope they enjoyed their Listerine-tinis. Yuck.

[Arizona Cruz Chic]

:rolleyes:

 

 

 

That's truly disgusting. You know the taste stays with the bottle, right? Hope they enjoyed their Listerine-tinis. Yuck.

 

 

ROFL.....I think I agree!!! :D

 

***

[christie584]

We at RCI thank you for letting us know your scam. We will be watching those water bottles and listerine from now on. :D

 

If you have something that works.... why on earth are you telling the world?:rolleyes:

 

Seriously? Don't act like this one post has enlightened the entire cruise line (or that you REALLY work for RCI and what you've learned here will change RCI's xray policy). People have been posting these tips for a LONG time and RCI has to know about it. It's not disgusting (to use a listerine bottle), it's not horrible, it's just life. People who spend the money on a cruise just don't always see that it's worth it to spend the money on the cruise AND spend the money on liquor. If you can get away with it, more power to you. And I HOPE everyone spreads the word on what works. I certainly will.

[The Flying Pirate]

Seriously? Don't act like this one post has enlightened the entire cruise line (or that you REALLY work for RCI and what you've learned here will change RCI's xray policy). People have been posting these tips for a LONG time and RCI has to know about it. It's not disgusting (to use a listerine bottle), it's not horrible, it's just life. People who spend the money on a cruise just don't always see that it's worth it to spend the money on the cruise AND spend the money on liquor. If you can get away with it, more power to you. And I HOPE everyone spreads the word on what works. I certainly will.

 

Actually the cruise lines do monitor Cruise Critic, since it is an excellent source of customer service feedback. Much more so then those surveys they have you fill out at the end of your cruise.

[UNV-IT!!!]

sailed oasis. my rum runners went through just fine.

[i guide the sky]

Actually the cruise lines do monitor Cruise Critic, since it is an excellent source of customer service feedback. Much more so then those surveys they have you fill out at the end of your cruise.

 

I don't think he is saying they don't look at CC. Just that smuggiling booze has long been covered on cruise critic and that this thread is nothing new, and he would be right.

 

If you blatently leave original packaged booze in your luggage be prepared for it to be taken. Go the extra mile and hide it in rum runners, water bottles and mouthwash( eeek, I agree) then you will most likely get away with it. Scaning every peice of luggage takes time they are only going to skim off the easy picks.

[davenew]

I have managed to bring alcohol on 25 cruises with no problems. However, the Oasis thwarted my efforts last week (first week of October 2010). Without getting into details, they apparently xray every single bag that goes on the ship (even the stuff you drop with the porter) and they mark bags with a "LIQ" if it appears to contain liquor, and separate markings for other contraband (mainly irons).

 

FWIW, they crew claim that the ship doesn't x-ray the stuff, but that it is "customs" but I don't see why customs would have any interest in whether alcohol is brought on-board s cruise ship, so this is either complete fabrication or else the cruise line has some sort of deal with customs when xraying to allow the cruise staff to watch and mark suspected alcohol bags.

 

My advice is to not even bother trying to smuggle alcohol onto the Oasis - at least not in its original container. This time all I had was one single bottle of wine. No other alcohol. I did not use Rum Runners, so perhaps that method might still work.

 

I am just off the Sep 25th sailing an I can report that a guy in a cabin near us was drinking smuggled booze?? - dont know what method they used.

I can recall people also saying on here about water and soda's being confiscated. I took 3 bottles of water through in my hand luggage, watched it being xrayed and nothing said. The next couple in line openly carried a 24 pack of coke with no problems.

[Caribbean Fun]

OK so the concensus is to use Rum Runner flasks on Oasis of the seas. There seems to be a great deal of concern as the Oasis site clearly states no alcohol and water, sodas, etc., that all will be confiscated and that you may get kicked off the ship, (at least that's what my wife told me - I'll have to double check). Note that my wife is very against smuggling booze on a ship so I'm not sure if she merely told me the part about kicking you off the ship to spook me. Personally I would think that they'd just confiscate it. It's not like you're breaking the law, just their policy, right?

[rubrrick]

Actually the cruise lines do monitor Cruise Critic, since it is an excellent source of customer service feedback. Much more so then those surveys they have you fill out at the end of your cruise.

 

I find your quote "Much more so than those surveys they have you fill out at the end of your cruise." a bit erroneous. I have known ships employees that have been elevated in status, because of comments made.

 

And I have never found the question of "How successful were you at (trying) smuggling liquor aboard undetected?

 

I know that every comment sheet is run thru a machine, and one of the jobs of several staff member is to read and possibly comment on the comment cards.

 

Now, back to the topic at hand!;)

 

Rick