NCL CONFISCATING ALCOHOL ON DOCK SIDE

[zimmerjulie]

Amen, tiggrrr

[gardencat]

I agree with tiggrr also, the crew are just the unfortunate front line stuck out there to enforce the company line handed down by NCL. To give them a hard time or even worse deprive them of tips because you are unhappy with company policy is unfair.

My question to those of you who have a more active social life than I is this: do you feel the beverage prices on NCL (or most cruise lines for that matter ) are unusually high compared to what you would pay in a decent restaurant or bar on land?

I don't go out to bars much. I do occasionally purchase a nice bottle of wine to accompany dinner in a restaurant but it is my feeling that prices, for wine at least, are higher on board than I would expect to pay on land. I may feel this way because I am from Canada so by the time I multiply by the exchange rate that $12 (Cnd) bottle seems to be costing me$40 or $45.

Do you think that if drinks were a bit more reasonable on board fewer people would be trying to smuggle?

[zimmerjulie]

I think the drinks aboard ship are a bit higher than a nice land-based restaurant, but not a lot higher. For me, who only drinks occasionally, it's the frou-frou drinks and fine wine 7 days and nights in a row that can really add up!

 

Actually on our last cruise our bill was amazingly small. For the first time, we did all our excursions independently, so that left a lot more "mental" room for drink expenses, although we didn't really use it.

 

I think a lot of people don't mind buying from the cruise line in the bars, but want a bottle for the cabin for pre-dinnner drinks, etc.

 

P.S.

The frou-frou drinks on board ship are about $1.00 more than you'd find at a nice restaurant in this area, but taste about 5 times better .

[OceanDreams]

This has been an issue for a long time. To me it's funny how some passengers take there own personal liquor cabinets with them on board the ships....then they raid the juice machines at the buffets. Gee, I wonder why on some of the ships, the juice machines have an "out of order" sign on them. We also have those passengers that purchase the suites, volunteer to host the CC gatherings....and what you know....they brought they own personal liquor cabinets. Yes, the liquor has been placed in plastic bottles or even shampoo bottle....but yeah, they got them past the security check points.

 

I don't think this issue will ever go away, in fact it's kinda funny to read about it. It's here to stay and good luck to all that try and get their bottles on board.

 

OceanDreams

Living life to the fullest

[klamathcraig]

I talked with an NCL Customer Service representative today to find out how much they will charge to preorder a one liter bottle of Bacardi rum for our cabin on the POAloha. She quoted me $55 plus a $3 service charge. Though this sounds a little steep, we are willing to pay it to forgo the whole smuggling routine and hassle. However, when I asked if we could arrange to bring aboard our favorite wines, which are not listed on NCL's wine list, and pay a cork fee to have them delivered to our table, she informed me that this practice was no longer allowed on NCL vessels and that any wine would be confiscated upon boarding. I'm going to call back and have this verified by a supervisor tomorrow. I'll ask that this policy be provided to me in writing via email or snail mail. I'll reply to this thread with my findings. We had asked this question when we booked our cruise and were told that bringing wine aboard and paying a corkage fee was acceptable if arranged ahead of time through NCL Customer Service. This will be our first NCL cruise and I'm not very impressed so far!

 

Craig

 

 

NCL Pride Of Aloha 09/2004

Tahitian Princess 03/2003 FP/Rarotonga

Renaissance R3 10/2000 French Polynesia

Celebrity Meridian 01/1993 Southern Caribbean

Costa Classica 03/1992 Eastern Caribbean

Crown Princess 06/1991 Western Caribbean

[insidecabin]

I was on the 7april trip and for whatever reason NCL were trying to play hardball. It looks like they had a real go at all luggage on embarkation not sending bags to the cabin if they suspected alcohol in a case.

On returning to the ship they tried to get people but if you were in a small group the guy checking the scanner was too busy to check so it was easy to get stuff through. I think they put extra guys on when the tours returned to be a bit more dilligent.

All the usual tricks worked, water bottles, or carton wine(easly found in europe). I think the wine prices on board were high for europeans other stuff a little expensive but the buckets of beers were OK. There was no wine package on this trip so it was full price every night with dinner.

 

On some lines the shops on board sell for cabin use at a small premium on the duty free. If they did this then only a few would buy ashore and cary a botlle to save $.

 

What really got me was the latitude discount(20%) in the Observatory was not automatic you were supposed to carry a bit of paper.

 

A lot of the suite passengers were very dissapointed on this trip, NO extras.

 

It may have been me on this trip but I felt that Cruise Staff and senior officers were invisable unless it was an organized event or revenue generating activity.

[gardencat]

Klamathcraig

Please do be sure to get everything in writing from NCL maybe it will help.

In most cases,it seems that speaking with NCL customer relations is just a complete waste of time. Based on other posters experiences if you call 3 times and ask the same question you are likely to get 3 completely different answers. Based on my own experience,whatever answer you get NCL will not feel at all bound by that answer. If they feel like it, they will simply apply a totally different policy than you were told and, if you remind them that you checked with their "Guest relations " and received a different answer, they simply tell you "too bad you were misinformed".

Maybe having something in writing will help but based on my experience a company that is basically prepared to say to your face "We lied to you and we don't care" is not likely to be bound by a piece of paper either.

Please report back and let us know what does happen.

[zimmerjulie]

insidecabin brings up a good point. I can imagine Europeans feeling scalded by the price of wine onboard! It was my experience that you could buy a good-tasting bottle of wine in a grocery store in Germany for about $3 to $7 US. What a shock to see a similar bottle for $28 or so on the ship.

 

I would think that for the U.S. made/distributed hard alcohol, it wouldn't be too much of a difference, judging by the prices on their restaurant menus.

 

I am under the impression that we have a lot of taxes imposed on our alcohol that Europeans do not have, thus the price difference on the European wines, spirits, etc. Is this still the case?

 

I would take gardencat's advice on the rule exception proceedure for bringing wine aboard. It shouldn't be that difficult, but it seems to be. If I were you I would hope to have my exception honored, but would be prepared for the rule to be followed anyway.

 

Does anyone know where to find the old thread entitled something like "The last(or was it final?) word on bringing wine aboard", I think by someone with mike in their name? I think he listed a contact name at NCL. It is soooooooooo much easier to get anything done with a tip like this. You can cut through the folks who can't, don't know how, or won't bother to do anything. Sorry I can't find it for you klamathcraig. The search feature has been pretty useless for me. Maybe someone else has a lead on it! Mike, are you out there?

 

good luck to all, and I hope you don't let the stress of trying to get alcohol onboard put a damper on your vacation.

[klamathcraig]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by gardencat:

Please do be sure to get everything in writing from NCL maybe it will help. In most cases,it seems that speaking with NCL customer relations is just a complete waste of time. Based on other posters experiences if you call 3 times and ask the same question you are likely to get 3 completely different answers...<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

 

This morning I contacted NCL Customer Service again and spoke with a different agent. I asked if it would be possible to arrange to bring aboard some select wines that were not available from the NCL wine list. I stated that I was willing to pay a corkage fee for each bottle of wine that I brought onboard. The agent, Mabeline, informed me that this practice was expressly forbidden and that in accordance with the Passenger Ticket Contract, absolutely no liquor of any kind, including wine, may be brought onboard by passengers. She stated that this rule had been in place for the eight years that she had worked for NCL. I then asked that Customer Service provide me with a letter of clarification on this issue since several Cruise Critic message board contributors had indicated that NCL allowed them to bring wine onboard with the provision that they pay a corkage fee for each bottle that was consumed at their table. She then stated that it was against NCL rules for Customer Service to elaborate in writing on the terms and conditions contained in the Passenger Ticket Contract. She further stated that she was familiar with the Cruise Critic message boards and that NCL management occasionally makes exceptions to the rules. And if I would like to appeal for such an exception to the rule of not bringing wine onboard, I could do so by Faxing my request to NCL management at (305) 436-4147. She instructed me to include my phone/Fax number and the number of wine bottles with a description of the different wines that I desired to bring onboard. I asked if I would receive an answer in writing and was told I would receive an answer to my request by phone or Fax.

 

Based on the large number of complaints about NCL Customer Service that I have read on this board, I am reluctant to trust NCL without something in writing to back me up. I would not want to be stuck on the dock at disembarkation with a weeks worth of wine that NCL would not allow me to consume on their ship. I think that breaking the rules for those that cry the loudest is a lousy way to do business and this kind of practice will hurt NCL in the long run. They'll be hard pressed to get my business again!

 

Craig

 

NCL Pride Of Aloha 09/2004

Tahitian Princess 03/2003 FP/Rarotonga

Renaissance R3 10/2000 French Polynesia

Celebrity Meridian 01/1993 Southern Caribbean

Costa Classica 03/1992 Eastern Caribbean

Crown Princess 06/1991 Western Caribbean

 

[newmexicoNita]

craig, I don't blame you for being reluctant at this stage. If it is a policy you can't bring wine on board why is there a $10 corkage fee? If this is true the policy has not been in effect for 8 years as the first young? lady informed you, but is brand new and I doubt it is the case. I don't know what I would do if I were you; this is the biggest problem I have with NcL. In fact it is about the only serious one: customer service and the liquor policy. As for not bringing it on, all lines seem to be cracking down. As I have said before we got busted on Celebrity last November and they wanted to confiscate our wine as well: we won that argument. Good luck, NMNita

 

Commodore 1984, Costa 1985, RCL 1987, Chandris 1989, NCL 1989, Commodore, 1991, NCL 1997, Carnival 1997, Carnival 1998,NCL 1998, NCL 1999, RCL 2000, RCL 2000, NCL 2002,NCL 2003, Celebrity 2003, NCL 2004

[clemmie5]

I Feel I must add our twopennyworth here as we were one of the "guilty" parties on the 04/07 trip. We have always taken a bottle of whisky and brandy onboard in our checked luggage ( RCL and NCL) and yes I know this is against the law but if that is all we have done in our lifetime that is illegal I am not too worried!We do it because one of the things we most enjoy about cruising ( apart from meeting some wonderful people and the Casino of course!) is that down time after a hectic day when you can enjoy a quiet drink in your cabin. Yes I know we could get the drinks fromm a bar but if we did we would spend less on other things. As Phil( Insidecabin) says the alcohol prices are very high for Europeans and I could not personally justify $50+ on a bottle and would go into " I mustn't spend any nore tonight " mode. Yes we were "caught" and laughed a lot about it and then suddenly became very prone to "Iced Tea" when we were ashore! We would far rather not have to do this,as we consider ourselves responsible adults but because of the few the many are penalised. Don't get me wrong - we still loved the cruise for many reasons but when my hubby was summoned on the first night it was a bit scary.

We wouldn't "dream" of depriving hardworking staff of their tips but would ask NCL ( and other lines ) to try and find a way of differentiating between youngsters who may be doing themselves and the cruise harm and reasonably responsible adults who just want the vacation they have dreamed of.

I hope this doesn't offend anyone - if it does I am sorry-we had our illegal naughties returned on the last night and those who had to do it were very nice to us, almost apologetic in fact. It didn't deter from the good things about the cruise which may be, but I hope not, our last.

Thank you to all our CC friends who laughed with us.

 

Sue and David

[zimmerjulie]

Sue and David,

Thanks for another first-hand account. I hope you had a nice toast on that last night and enjoyed your iced tea . Too bad you had to be hassled with this mundane issue, but glad you had a good time overall.

Julie

[clemmie5]

Thanks Julie and Yes we had a great last night and are still enjoying our returned goods now!! Nice after a long day at work so perhaps it has its compensations! See you are from Washington State as were 2 of our lovely new friends on this cruise who hailed from near Seattle ( mind you so did the "£*&% who won the free cruise!!!)

Thanks again for your kind words.

Sue and David

[Lissee]

We sailed the Dawn over 4/4 and my luggage didn't make it to my room.My husband was sooooo mad he missed the Statue of Liberty.So I went to the front desk and demanded to know where the luggage was.She said in a holing room.I go to the room and there was a sea of bags.hundreds.I found mine and they opened it to find 5 bottles of water I was so mad the started my vaca off like this.not even an apology

 

4/4/04 here we come!!!!

 

[trish1c]

Oh PUH LEASE !!!!!!!

 

Read your tickets -- it says no alcohol. It means no alcohol.

 

Then it makes an exception for 1-2 bottles of special ocassion wine -- that means some $100+ wholesale bottle you got the day you got married & now want to open for your 25th wedding anniversary. (read: my personal definition of extra special -- don't flame me just b/c you define "special" differently) It does not mean any 'ole bottle you want to bring on b/c they don't carry it & you're too cheap to abide by their pricing structures.

 

This is a liability issue not a profit issue. If you get tanked in your cabin & then have 1 sip, out of 1 drink that the cruise sold you, guess what? somebody is gonna sue the cruise line 'cause you fell over board, or fell down & hurt yourself or hurt another passanger. It's just not worth it to the cruise line. Even though you brought 1 bottle of wine & would only have 1 glass per day doesn't mean everyone would do that & the business has an obligation to everyone else to protect you from yourself. Write your Congressman if that concept offends you.

 

All of that said & rant over -- sorry but I HAD TO -- we brought several bottles of inexpensive wine aboard our NCL cruise in March. Yes, we tried & failed to smuggle it. Then -- oh horrors -- I'm kidding about my reaction, it was funny -- our bags containing the wine were not delivered to our cabin. A very discrete note was left on our door asking us to report to a specific location. There we were asked to open our luggage -- when the bottles were produced some low level employee just following company policy put a sticker on our cheap wine w/ our cabin # & thereafter we were allowed to order it at dinner. No big deal. Lots of humor.

 

In fact the couple ahead of us on the "Smuggler's line" actually playfully slapped her husband as the NCL staff removed a 1/2 gallon of Popov Vodka from their luggage, saying at least they brought the "good stuff" . She was pointing at the bottle of Verve Cliqout my parents bought us for my birthday cruise that we'd put in the luggage.

 

Morals of long post: It's easier to ask for forgiveness than permission & if you endeavor to smuggle you'll be caught. If it really is just water, carry it on & let 'em smell it as you board. If you can't handle the "embarrassment" of getting caught, don't even bother trying to smuggle.

 

Bon Voyage & Bottoms Up!

 

Trish

[jander]

[img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif[/img]I have found the solution, after my last bar bill, I have deceided to cool my cruising. They charge too much from a captive audience, and I can find a lot of pleasures elsewhere. Lets face it folks they will charge whatever you are willing to pay.

[Guest]

No liability issue here. NCL is no way responsible for how you consume your own supply of alcohol. This is simply a revenue generating measure. NCL does state in their brochures and ticketing literature that there is no personal alcohol allowed. You should expect confiscation as a result. I disagree with the policy, but it is stated before you set sail. I found a creative way to get beer onboard, but I would not of complained had it been confiscated as the policy is clearly stated. There are other vacation options available without this scrutiny if you so choose.

[insidecabin]

RCI have corkage policy and last year we took 12 bottles of wine paid the corkage and saved over $250 to spend elsewhere on the ship. We traveled to the dock by car and took the bottles in a wheeled case as carry on and nothing was said so we could have drunk them in the cabin but they were for dinner. There weer 4 of us and we did buy some extra bottles off the list(12n cruise). I took the Wine list from the ship and bought equivalent or better from my local store so no special shop. What i did discover is that if you turned up at the table with an open bottle that was on the list the corkage is waived since the wine is available in all bars.

The corkage fee is on NCL menus which are printed daily so there is a simple case of left hand/right hand. The company has customer relations issues since no one seems to really know what is going on.
If the policy is no alcohol then get the corkage fee off the menu.
They could also do with getting some decent beer on board for the europe runs, the selection of **** american beer will dent profits I drank much less on this trip than I would normaly. There were Fosters oil cans and a limited supply of grolsh which was kept secret.

[vijoge]

Rules is rules, folks. If you don't want to follow them, don't go. Spend your vacation at the corner bar instead. I'm sure they will let you BYOB there.

RCI Majesty of the Seas 06/05/2000
RCI Enchantment of the Seas 12/09/2001
Carnival Conquest 12/01/2002
Norwegian Dawn 11/30/2003
Norwegian Star to Alaska 6/26/05

Life is too short to be unhappy!

[bate68]

NCL has misplaced their priorities. Scanners are there for an extremely important reason...to protect us from terrorism. When a cruise line uses the technology to scan for booze, it makes a mockery of the security system on the ship. People who see this policy as just another way to squeeze the passenger for $$, try to sneak bottles on board. Could you imagine trying to sneak things past an airport screener. Scanning equipment is there for an extremely important purpose...to protect all of us. When used for any other purpose it minimizes and hurts the travelling public. NCL should reexamine its policy. You should be allowed to bring booze onboard. If you want to drink it in your room, then it's your business. If you want to bring it to dinner then I see nothing wrong if NCL charges a $10 corkage fee. But to intertwine weapons and bomb scanning equipment with Booze confiscation is a perversion of its intended use and should not be tolerated.

[lesleyfb]

The way I look at it is - if you check into a hotel you don't get anything in your luggage taken away from you then returned to you on the last night of your stay. If you want to take a bottle of wine and drink it in your room - fine. I think the cruise lines are using the scanning equipment to their OWN advantage and not for passenger safety purposes as it was intended. Wow. Look how many hits this post has received. Must be important to people.

[insidecabin]

Correction the $250 savings did not take the $80 corkage into account.

[Wenneke]

Insidecabin, on the overnight in Antwerp you can drink all the good(belgian) beer you want!! Lesley, you started something. It is time to stand up against this money ripping. As a passenger said on the shuttle bus ($5) to Marseille, 'thank god we are not on board anymore, otherwise they would have made us pay for the extra electricity'

[tiggrrr]

Bate68 - which planet are you from! As if cruise lines are making "a mockery" of our safety. You booked your ticket, You read the rules, if you don't like them don't go - its simple. Don't be stirring up safety issues just because you don't agree with the rules you have agreed to. I thought this site was to assist people going on cruises and for sensible discussions - your comments are pathetic and unfortunately "make a mockery" of this site! [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_mad.gif[/img]

[intrepid_guy]

Hmmm... I am in awe that this discussion is still going on. It is a fact, no personal liquor is allowed aboard, it says so in the brochure, on your ticket and as you board the ship. Period. Now, if you want to sneak it on, go ahead, no harm no foul. Just be prepared, and dont loose your mind. I have successfully snuck booze on 4 cruises and havent been caught yet (knock on wood). If it had been taken, I would be sad (for a second) but it wouldnt have stopped me. If you get it aboard - lucky you... if not - enjoy your trip anyway.

JUST REMEMBER NCL MAKES NO SECRET OF IT....


~Intrepid <--- the "Smuggler"

<b<SS NORWAY! NEVER GONE IN MY HEART![/b] I will always miss her.
Norway - Philadelphia - Nowhere July 14, 1984
Norway - Miami - Eastern July 08, 2000
Norway - Miami - Eastern February 17, 2001
Norway - Miami - Eastern April 21, 2002 [B]Birthday Cruise![/B]
Norwegian Sky - San Juan – Southern November 9, 2003
Splendour of the Seas - Galveston - Western March (or April), 2004

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