Conflict Between FAQ or Guest Conduct Policy - which applies

[ChevyCruiser]

Can I take my own water and/or soda onboard or not? The FAQ area on the RCI website states:

 

"Guests are not allowed to bring alcoholic or non-alcoholic beverages onboard for consumption or any other use. Alcoholic beverages that are purchased in ports-of-call or from Shops On Board will be stored by the ship and delivered to your stateroom on the last day of the sailing. Alcoholic beverages seized on embarkation day will not be returned.

 

Security may inspect containers (water bottles, soda bottles, mouthwash, luggage etc.) and will dispose of containers holding alcohol. Guests who violate any alcohol policies, (over consume, provide alcohol to people under age 21, demonstrate irresponsible behavior, or attempt to conceal alcoholic items at security and or luggage check points or any other time), may be disembarked or not allowed to board, at their own expense, in accordance with our Guest Conduct Policy. Guests who are under the permitted drinking age will not have alcohol returned to them."

 

While the aforementioned Guest Conduct Policy is silent on non-alcoholic beverages:

 

"Guests are not permitted to bring alcoholic beverages onboard and Security may

inspect containers (water bottles, soda bottles, mouthwash, luggage, etc.) at any

time. Alcoholic beverages that are purchased from onboard shops or in ports-ofcall

(which must be presented to security upon re-boarding), will be secured by

ship’s personnel and delivered to the guest’s stateroom just prior to the

conclusion of their cruise vacation. Guests who are under the permitted drinking

age will not have alcohol returned to them."

 

So, do I need some rum runners for my Diet Dr. Pepper?

[Cigar King]

So what exactly is your point of confusion?

[ChevyCruiser]

So what exactly is your point of confusion?

 

Sorry.

 

The FAQs state that one cannot take non-alcoholic beverages onboard, while the Guest Conduct Policy is silent on non-alcoholic beverages.

 

My confusion is are non-alcoholic beverages allowed or not?

[JohninDC]

One bottle in your back pack as you return from an excursion - probably okay.

 

12 or 24 (or more :eek:) cans/bottles in your carry on luggage - not likely.

 

Good luck! :)

[Bakincakes]

In our experience I doubt they minded pax bringing a few bottles of soda or water onboard. Most make it through some do not.

 

Basically, as in everything else, there were some that decided it was a good move to have to wheel cases of water and soda onboard. That raised flags and then some pax found their water and soda were being confiscated.

 

As usual the selfish behavior of some pax created an issue out of something that used to be a non issue.:(

[retiredgram]

Hubby and I just got back from a cruise. He only drinks Pepsi. He took a 6 pack of 24 oz. bottles (plastic) in his carry on. Went right thru security and they did not say a thing. We did not try and hide it as it was in a carry on. The only thing they will do is confiscate it. We knew this might happen and figured we would only be out a couple dollars if it did. Good Luck.

[The_Big_M]

I don't see any conflict there. The conduct policy is referring there to conduct due to alcoholic beverages, which is also stated in the FAQ. Non-alcoholic beverages are unlikely to have the same effect :-)

[Dave85]

This issue seems to come up a lot on the boards. The general consensus is that you can usually get away with bringing a reasonable amount of water / soda on with you ("reasonable" meaning don't go crazy).

 

Based on my own experience, I personally recommend rolling it onto the ship with you rather than putting it in your checked baggage. I did this on the Oasis and it wasn't an issue. Don't be surprised if they ask you to open your bag though so that they can confirm you're not carrying on alcohol.

[Jetdriver787]

The guest conduct policy is a policy enshrined within the general conditions for carriage. The latter being a part of the contract you enter into with the company. Clearly the guest conduct policy is not the entirety of the contract since there are many pages of additional terms concerning the general conditions of carriage.

 

In other words, the contract that you enter into is the whole thing and not just the highlighted sub-section.

 

Beyond the contract, I am supposing that the line prohibits people bringing alcoholic drink on board their ships. The prohibition on bringing non-alcoholic beverages on board is aimed at doing two things: Firstly, restricting the opportunities for alcohol to be "smuggled" within those containers; Secondly, restricting the loss of onboard revenue opportunity.

 

Anecdotal evidence on these forums would suggest that there is generally a "common sense" factor applied on a day to day basis. Bottles of soda are not being confiscated en-masse, and the odd pack of sodas are not always being confiscated with the delivery of luggage. Nevertheless, if the company wishes to exercise its rights under the terms of the contract, it clearly can do so.

[Iluvcruising2]

We usually bring a sizable number of sealed 1.5L bottles of drinking water, both in our checked luggage as well as carry-on. So far, no problems at all.

[kittymom65]

We just got off Jewel. We carried on a 12 pack of Diet Mtn. Dew and a few water bottles at Port of Tampa.

We have done this on most of our cruises, both from Tampa and Pt. Canaveral, and have not had any issues whatsoever.

[ChevyCruiser]

Not wanting to waste my time, effort, and money buying a case of soda for my next cruise, I emailed the C&A Society and got an answer in just a few days. Here's what they said:

 

 

Dear Mr. Passenger:

 

Thank you for your email. We apologize for the delay in our response.

 

Regrettably, we are unable to allow guests to bring their own beverages onboard with the exception of a single, non-alcoholic beverage in hand upon boarding. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

 

Should it be medically necessary to have a specific beverage item that the ship does not or cannot provide, it is possible that item will be permitted to be brought onboard with a doctor's note. For additional assistance, we encourage you to contact our Special Needs Department by email at special_needs@rccl.com or via phone at 1-866-592-7225.

 

Mr. Passenger, thank you for choosing Royal Caribbean International. We look forward to welcoming you onboard.

 

Sincerely,

 

Kristin Conkling

Customer Service Representative

 

 

Looks like I'll need a prescription for Diet Dr. Pepper from my physician. While I'm at it maybe I'll have him declare my cat a service animal. With a service animal, I can butt in at the head of any line......ooops, thats another thread.

[Mark_K]

RCI is (in)famous for its inconsistency in rules applications. If it were me, I'd try to take it along. And if they take it, it's not like Diet Dr. Pepper costs $50/bottle.

[time4u2go]

I can understand the confusion. The FAQ says you can't bring non-alcoholic drinks, but the rule says basically, "when you bring your non-alcoholic drinks onboard, we have a right to inspect them."

[johneeo]

I don't see any conflict there. The conduct policy is referring there to conduct due to alcoholic beverages,

 

Incorrect:

 

"Guests are not allowed to bring alcoholic or non-alcoholic beverages onboard for consumption or any other use."

[NEMMRRC]

Last time we were on RCI they confiscated our bottled water upon embarkation. It was packed in checked luggage. We sailed out of Port of Long Beach. DW only drinks DDP (Diet Dr. Pepper). She did sneak a DDP 6-pack in her carry-on though. Go figure!

[Dave85]

If you ask them they will 100% e-mail you back or tell you over the phone that you may not bring anything on. That has been well-established in all of the threads on this topic.

 

As I alluded to above, if you actually go ahead and try to bring on a reasonable amount of water or soda you are very likely to get in on board. That's where this issue stands. If you want more discussion you should run a search of the forum and you'll be able to read lots of posters sharing their experiences.

[Dave85]

Last time we were on RCI they confiscated our bottled water upon embarkation. It was packed in checked luggage. We sailed out of Port of Long Beach. DW only drinks DDP (Diet Dr. Pepper). She did sneak a DDP 6-pack in her carry-on though. Go figure!

 

This is exactly why I recommended above carrying it in. (Strictly based on what I've read on cruise critic) it appears that those who have their water or soda confiscated disporporationately tried to bring it on through checked luggage.

[The_Big_M]

Incorrect:

 

"Guests are not allowed to bring alcoholic or non-alcoholic beverages onboard for consumption or any other use."

 

Incorrect:

 

"Guests are not permitted to bring alcoholic beverages onboard"

[LA_CA_GAL]

Incorrect:

 

"Guests are not permitted to bring alcoholic beverages onboard"

 

You should get a hold of the RCI agreement.

 

Johneeo quoted it exactly. You did not.

 

Sorry, it is YOU that is TOTALLY incorrect.

[Dave85]

You should get a hold of the RCI agreement.

 

Johneeo quoted it exactly. You did not.

 

Sorry, it is YOU that is TOTALLY incorrect.

 

Why does every thread have to turn contentious lately?

 

OP, I hope your question has been answered.

[LA_CA_GAL]

Incorrect:

 

"Guests are not permitted to bring alcoholic beverages onboard"

 

Just checked my last cruise contract, read, as follows:

 

Guests are not allowed to bring alcoholic or non-alcoholic beverages onboard for consumption or any other use. Alcoholic beverages that are purchased in ports-of-call or from Shops On Board will be stored by the ship and delivered to your stateroom on the last day of the sailing. Alcoholic beverages seized on embarkation day will not be returned.

 

Security may inspect containers (water bottles, soda bottles, mouthwash, luggage etc.) and will dispose of containers holding alcohol. Guests who violate any alcohol policies, (over consume, provide alcohol to people under age 21, demonstrate irresponsible behavior, or attempt to conceal alcoholic items at security and or luggage check points or any other time), may be disembarked or not allowed to board, at their own expense, in accordance with our Guest Conduct Policy. Guests who are under the permitted drinking age will not have alcohol returned to them

[LA_CA_GAL]

Why does every thread have to turn contentious lately?

 

OP, I hope your question has been answered.

 

Maybe because some posters provide incredibly incorrect information and tell those that post the correct info that they are wrong.:rolleyes:

 

Totally unacceptable, and they must be set straight.

 

:mad:This board provides a lot of good info, and when someone comes on here telling others that post good info that they are incorrect, that cannot be tolerated.:mad:

[Dave85]

Maybe because some posters provide incredibly incorrect information and tell those that post the correct info that they are wrong.:rolleyes:

 

Totally unacceptable, and they must be set straight.

 

:mad:This board provides a lot of good info, and when someone comes on here telling others that post good info that they are incorrect, that cannot be tolerated.:mad:

 

I hear ya... I didn't intend to call you out personally.

[BeachChik]

The reality is that people can post the policy all they want, based on posts here most ports don't enforce the no beverage policy. I took 3 cases of soda on our freedom cruise and no one said anything. Nor did they ask us to open our luggage to verify it was just soda.