Smuggling Booze?

[UNV-IT!!!]

Also I have ZERO issues with paying for drinks. I choose to bring my own because they dont provide what i like. I have sent numours letters in. Its already a label they carry just another type rum. Im paying them to provide me with a great vacation experience. If they cant provide me with the Drink I want then i should be able to provide myself with my drink.

[gpw45]

We were on Radiance of the Seas last week. We don't drink alcahol, so there is no motivation for us to try to smuggle alcohol. But we usually take Propel flavored water (not offered on ship) and Coke (I buy the Coke card, but sometimes I just don't want to make the trek to find an open bar to get a refill). For a 4 night cruise, we took 4 1/2 liter bottles of each.

 

We have never been stopped before, but this time, they held the bag for inspection. The didn't look twice at the Coke, but shook the bottle to see how it bubbled. All bottles were sealed. They broke the seal on one. I'm glad I put it in a plastic bag because it did leak on the way back to the room.

 

There were a lot of loose water bottles on the floor. They are on to that trick. I doubt that that would be returned. Possible sanitary issues with opened bottles.

 

Anyway, their detection system seems to have been improved.

 

When they found alcohol (even in a box) in the luggage of people ahead of me, they were bagging and tagging it with the room number. I doubt they would have done that unless they were planning on returning it. In the last Cruise Compass, they told where to go to pick up confiscated alcahol and a different location to pick up other items - irons, etc.

 

What upsets me is that they never told us they had held the bag. I wanted to get a jacket to go on deck as we passed under the Sunshine Skyway bridge and it was in the held bag. I used a lighter jacket. Later, after the show, the bag had still not arrived, so we wondered if it had made the ship or had been delivered to the wrong cabin. Guest Services informed me that it was at security. The line was short (the others probably had claimed their luggage earlier).

 

Since they didn't find any alcohol (because there wasn't any), I think they should have had someone take the bag to our cabin as an apology. Anyone see a flying pig?

 

Gordon

[gerif]

Also I have ZERO issues with paying for drinks. I choose to bring my own because they dont provide what i like. I have sent numours letters in. Its already a label they carry just another type rum. Im paying them to provide me with a great vacation experience. If they cant provide me with the Drink I want then i should be able to provide myself with my drink.

 

So, if you go to a restaurant and they don't carry the type of rum you like do you bring your own bottle? Just sayin . . . .

[gpw45]

How many have never ... taken a pen from work ..

 

Actually, my employer is so slow to approve expenditures that I bring my own pens into work.

[schmoopie17]

So, if you go to a restaurant and they don't carry the type of rum you like do you bring your own bottle? Just sayin . . . .

 

Apples and oranges. How many restaurants have you been to for a week at a time? Just sayin...

[maggieq]

You are paying thousands for your cruise and you try to save a few bucks by smuggling booze.

 

These are probably the same people that do not want to follow the suggested dress codes.

 

 

 

That statement is just plain wrong. We take a couple of pints on each cruise. We follow the dress code....if we don't have formal attire, we don't go to the mdr. We also buy drinks during the day. We al******** with RCCL 2 to 3 times a year. That noted, please don't look down on people that take on a small amount of alcohol.

 

I wish people would stop making blanket statements about people you don't know.

[UNV-IT!!!]

No I dont drink rum with dinner. only when relaxing or working. But you bet your as*i bring my own bottles of wine to places that dont serve rioja wines. just sayin

So, if you go to a restaurant and they don't carry the type of rum you like do you bring your own bottle? Just sayin . . . .

[gerif]

No I dont drink rum with dinner. only when relaxing or working. But you bet your as*i bring my own bottles of wine to places that dont serve rioja wines. just sayin

 

OK, I'll admit to not the best analogy - how about an all-inclusive, like Beaches - all the booze you can drink included in the price but they don't carry your choice of rum OR wine - are you packing your own or do you make do with what they have? Be honest now.

[juneagain]

I think it's horrible that any cruise ship line would ban passengers from bringing on alcohol. It is not an illegal substance after all. What's next? Hotels on land preventing us from doing the same thing during our stay?

 

That being said, I do plan on following the rules on this my very first cruise because I am too much of a coward to smuggle. It is their policy and I do have the choice not to book my vacation time with them.

 

Kudos to those who do manage to smuggle successfully. I will be jealous, especially when I am schlepping my vodka and soda back to my balcony before dinner.

 

I would pay a premium to have a bottle of vodka in my room.

[Langley Cruisers]

I think it's horrible that any cruise ship line would ban passengers from bringing on alcohol. It is not an illegal substance after all.

 

Of course it's not. Neither are my scissors or my iron or even my celebratory fireworks. But they are all banned on RCI.

 

I'm sorry you think it's "horrible". Other cruise lines do not prohibit alcohol being brought on board. You'll work it out, not to worry.

 

Explorer is magnificent; this is really such a non-issue, it's crazy. Enjoy your cruise. :)

[schmoopie17]

These are probably the same people that do not want to follow the suggested dress codes.

 

Note the word "suggested". It is not mandatory, not required...but SUGGESTED. There is a difference...

[juneagain]

Of course it's not. Neither are my scissors or my iron or even my celebratory fireworks. But they are all banned on RCI.

 

I'm sorry you think it's "horrible". Other cruise lines do not prohibit alcohol being brought on board. You'll work it out, not to worry.

 

Explorer is magnificent; this is really such a non-issue, it's crazy. Enjoy your cruise. :)

 

Thank you very much. I do plan on enjoying my cruise and I agree with you that prohibiting alcohol is a non-issue for me to enjoy the cruise. However, banning alcohol does seem to be a way for the cruise line to inflate their profits rather than ensure the safety of its passengers.

 

They sell the alcohol on board and from what I have read, they rather encourage the purchase of cocktails at different times and locations on the ships. As far as I know, they do not sell fireworks or irons on board for passengers to take back to their rooms for their personal use. The banning of those items seems to be for the safety of the passengers.

 

As many have said before me, it is what it is. I won't be smuggling booze on the ship but I have no problem with those who are willing to risk it.

[MyrtleBeachRCIcruiser]

That statement is just plain wrong. We take a couple of pints on each cruise. We follow the dress code....if we don't have formal attire, we don't go to the mdr. We also buy drinks during the day. We al******** with RCCL 2 to 3 times a year. That noted, please don't look down on people that take on a small amount of alcohol.

 

I wish people would stop making blanket statements about people you don't know.

 

How could you have 20 cruises under your belt but not have any formal attire? A nice suit isn't even that expensive? Im confused about this part of your statement.

[UNV-IT!!!]

Well here's the only problem with that. That would usually include flying. Which i dont typically fly with bottles. dont feel like having my clothes or whatever ruined by lazy ground crews. I live in South FL so going on these cruises do not require any flying. But if i did bring bottles on a plane. then yes i would no issues at all.

OK, I'll admit to not the best analogy - how about an all-inclusive, like Beaches - all the booze you can drink included in the price but they don't carry your choice of rum OR wine - are you packing your own or do you make do with what they have? Be honest now.

[Merion_Mom]

How could you have 20 cruises under your belt but not have any formal attire? A nice suit isn't even that expensive? Im confused about this part of your statement.

 

She's not on the board right now, but I am pretty sure that she was saying that if she didn't have formal attire with her ON THE CRUISE, she wouldn't go to the MDR. Some people have decided to pack light these days.

 

:)

[dickydonkin]

When you smuggle booze, the ship doesn't get revenue... but the ship hasn't provided any service.

 

What I have learn't on these forums by well informed contributors is that a cruise line does not make much on the cruise fare alone and a lot of the revenue is generated by other means which provides revenue for the cruise line and keeps the cruise prices relatively low.

 

The statement that 'the ship hasn't provided any service' is not quite true.

 

The ship and all of the facilities, maintenance, safety features..etc are all part of the 'service' provided to ensure safety and enjoyment and all have to be paid for.

 

Again, the cruise fare alone will not cover all of these other services.

 

Parents make rules for their kids to abide with, lawmakers have legislation for a reason, and RCI also require passengers not to smuggle alcohol on board.

 

Personally, I don't give a toss whether someone smuggles on board or not - that is up to them - all I am suggesting is that judging by the myriad of threads on the subject on these forums, it seems to be a personal challenge by many to find ways of getting booze on board and maybe they should direct their efforts at just enjoying the cruise without having to worry about being sent to the naughty room or being embarrassed by having contraband confiscated in front of other passengers.

 

I have to state that the colostomy bag tops the lot!

 

I fail to comprehend as to why someone will pay a substantial amount of money for a cruise and worry about saving a few £$ on alcohol .

 

As for the feeble argument that people need to smuggle because the ship 'does not have their favourite brand' is just plain laughable.

[maggieq]

How could you have 20 cruises under your belt but not have any formal attire? A nice suit isn't even that expensive? Im confused about this part of your statement.

 

 

 

I didn't say "we don't have any formal attire". We have formal attire and have used it on past cruises. We just choose not to and eat at the WJ or Cafe. My point I was trying to make is that we take alcohol on the ship and we abide by the dress code; which the poster I was responding to seemed to think went hand in hand.....

[maggieq]

She's not on the board right now, but I am pretty sure that she was saying that if she didn't have formal attire with her ON THE CRUISE, she wouldn't go to the MDR. Some people have decided to pack light these days.

 

:)

 

 

Thanks Merion Mom...that's exactly what I was saying. We have done the "formal" thing on past cruises. For the past few, we just choose not to. In fact, we go to the dining room maybe 1 to 2 times on a cruise. And YES, we prepay our gratuities.:)

[atush]

Some of us used to cruise with 2 cases pp, incl one for shoes and ballgowns.

 

But I am now limited to having just one case of 44lbs pp flying from overseas. Not much room for finery there, I assure you lol. Not w/o guest washing facilities which RCL don't have and others do.

 

But if I didn't have a nice dress, and hubby no suit- rest assured you wont see me in the MDR as I have no interest in being underdressed in a crowd of finery ;-)

 

I am so amused by these threads. So many people looking down their noses at others. So much cat calling. So many 'holier than thou' puritans. Reminds me of tipping threads on Trip Advisor lol.

[grazrock4]

Bring booze, or don't bring booze.

 

You may get caught, or you may not.

 

It's okay, it's not okay.

 

The ship will lose money, the ship won't lose money.

 

Everyone should make their own choice. It doesn't make sense to make your decision based on what happened to one cruiser on one ship. If someone gets away with it, it doesn't mean you will too. Every day is different, every employee is different.

 

It may be your lucky day, it may not.

 

It makes absolutely no difference to me if people want to smuggle alcohol. As long as they are not bringing on something that could physically harm anyone, who cares.:)

[twoflyers]

RCL doesn't allow anything. Google rum runners, buy rum runners, use rum runners. You'll be fine.

 

 

 

LOL, A HUGE chance?!?! Really?!? The only change they are taking is that they might lose the alcohol they smuggled...and even that is rare if they do it right. How is losing the alcohol you wouldn't have anyway a "HUGE" change.

 

If you thinks smuggling alcohol is a huge chance I'd hate to hear what you say to people who ride motorcycles, or ride roller coasters, or play any sort of sport, or work in a dangerous field like law enforcement. AAAAAHHHHH we're taking HUGE HUGE HUGE HUGE HUGE chances. ha ha ha ha ha

 

Boy you're funny, thanks for the laugh this morning. LOL

 

Someone earlier did mention that any confiscated alcohol will now not be returned.

 

Does anyone know what will actually happen to that booze?

 

If 400 cases have been sent to the naughty room on one cruise - then there would be enough hooch for one hell of a party!

 

My husband and four friends got off the Majesty of the Seas last week-end. We normally bring a bottle of vodka on board for an evening drink in our cabin. We've been on over 25 cruises and we have never had (or been) a problem.

We boarded the ship around 1:00 p.m. and I was surprised when I still had not gotten my bag by 4:00 p.m. As you may guess, I was "busted"!!!

A gentleman called my cabin and asked me if I had liquor in my suitcase. I told him I did and he asked me to come down to Deck 1 to unlock my bag and remove the liquor. When I went down to retrieve my bag the staff were courteous and professional. They took the bottle, tagged it and I signed a form which documented the transaction. They said the bottle would be returned the last day of the trip.

On the last day of the cruise, at about 5:00 p.m., our cabin steward delivered our bottle of vodka. Seeing that it was cocktail hour, we opened our bottle and had a pre-dinnner drink. We also ordered a bottle of wine with dinner, as we normally do on cruises anyway. We agree with many of the other posts, it's about convenience, not the money.

I believe RCCL's liquor policy is a response to the death of that young man who died (murdered?)) on his honeymoon cruise in the Mediteranean. RCCL received a lot of bad publicity and their management had to testify before Congress concerning the behavior of their guests and the ship's staff's handling of that situation. The FBI got involved and the case remains open - no one has been charged.

It appears that RCCL wants to demonstrate that they have a restrictive liquor policy and will control who is served so they can monitor their condition and refuse service if people are out of control. You can't do that if people are pouring their own.

p.s. my husband and I had a laugh when returning from dinner our hallway reeked of marijuana. There were a lot of college kids on this cruise and I guess they didn't want to worry about having a bottle of liquor confiscated.

[DivingPrincessE]

My husband and four friends got off the Majesty of the Seas last week-end. We normally bring a bottle of vodka on board for an evening drink in our cabin. We've been on over 25 cruises and we have never had (or been) a problem.

We boarded the ship around 1:00 p.m. and I was surprised when I still had not gotten my bag by 4:00 p.m. As you may guess, I was "busted"!!!

A gentleman called my cabin and asked me if I had liquor in my suitcase. I told him I did and he asked me to come down to Deck 1 to unlock my bag and remove the liquor. When I went down to retrieve my bag the staff were courteous and professional. They took the bottle, tagged it and I signed a form which documented the transaction. They said the bottle would be returned the last day of the trip.

On the last day of the cruise, at about 5:00 p.m., our cabin steward delivered our bottle of vodka. Seeing that it was cocktail hour, we opened our bottle and had a pre-dinnner drink. We also ordered a bottle of wine with dinner, as we normally do on cruises anyway. We agree with many of the other posts, it's about convenience, not the money.

I believe RCCL's liquor policy is a response to the death of that young man who died (murdered?)) on his honeymoon cruise in the Mediteranean. RCCL received a lot of bad publicity and their management had to testify before Congress concerning the behavior of their guests and the ship's staff's handling of that situation. The FBI got involved and the case remains open - no one has been charged.

It appears that RCCL wants to demonstrate that they have a restrictive liquor policy and will control who is served so they can monitor their condition and refuse service if people are out of control. You can't do that if people are pouring their own.

p.s. my husband and I had a laugh when returning from dinner our hallway reeked of marijuana. There were a lot of college kids on this cruise and I guess they didn't want to worry about having a bottle of liquor confiscated.

 

You mean you were caught and you weren't forced to walk the plank or kicked off the ship?? Someone earlier said it was a "HUGE risk" so I figured they must make you walk the plank. ;)

[rogcat1995]

ANyone ever tried smuggling vodka or rum in a listerine bottle???

[DivingPrincessE]

ANyone ever tried smuggling vodka or rum in a listerine bottle???

 

My BF tried that once (even though I suggested the rum runner). Even though he rinsed and rinsed and rinsed and rinsed and washed it...the vodka tasted minty. He could barely drink one glass and had to toss the rest. He said the mintyness made it too gross.

 

I had read this is a common problem with using a Listerine bottle, and I had told him. Men, they never listen :D

 

Now he uses the rum runners.

[Stags14]

When I smuggle beer, I usually put it in the part of my suitcase that I'd put my suit to formal night. I usually bring out my own beer to the pool when I reserve my seat at the pool w/ my towel, but I don't go out there til noon so I can sleep away my hangover that I got from my free beer.

 

By the time formal night comes along, I'm usually hammered carrying in my own beer, in cans, wearing NASCAR shirts and just an all around mess. I wear flip flops and cut off shorts and I'm a horrible person.

 

At the end of the week, I don't tip anyone b/c they should deserve it. Their pay is their pay, and they accepted their job - they can get a new one if they don't want all those traveling perks. I mean really... how hard could it be?

 

WHO CARES?!?!?!