10th and probably last Royal Caribbean Cruise.

[Heidils]

They are not concerned in the least with non alcoholic beverages that I have ever seen or heard........you should be just fine bringing on reasonable amounts of gatorade and water.

 

Thank you!

[kc320]

You can order wine/champagne from Gifts & Gear for delivery to your stateroom.

 

From the website

 

Our extensive Wine Cellar Collection rivals those of the finest restaurants, offering more than 50 bottles of wine and champagne from around the world. Order from the list below and have your favorite bottle delivered to your stateroom or to your table at dinner. Please choose Dining Room delivery if you wish to drink your wine in the dining room. Stateroom delivery indicates you will drink your wine in your stateroom only.

 

 

I know...the person I quoted & responded to had said you could order from an off site company...like Baskets to Go...and have it delviered to the ship...as far as I know THAT practice has been discontinued...

[andiloveu]

The policy has changed, you were once allowed to buy booze in the ship's store, and allowed to take it back to your cabin for a $9.00 extra charge, not bad. You were also allowed to bring on all the wine you wanted many years ago.............and they never charged us a corkage fee in the MDR!!!!

This was even cancelled way before the Smith case. Things were really tightened then, and the "naughty room" was born.

What is the smith case? I've never heard this before. I do remember being able to buy alcohol at the liquor store on board and then taking it to your room but now you can't. No big deal to me.

[ryano]

What is the smith case? I've never heard this before. I do remember being able to buy alcohol at the liquor store on board and then taking it to your room but now you can't. No big deal to me.

 

:)

 

http://abcnews.go.com/Primetime/story?id=1546815

[yogimax]

 

Unbelievable!!

 

I find it "unbelievable" that someone would leave a cruise line over one bottle of wine.

[andiloveu]

:)

 

http://abcnews.go.com/Primetime/story?id=1546815

Thank you for the info. How very sad. Just shows you that just because you are on vacation you must still be cautious and aware.

[Mark_K]

The policy has changed, you were once allowed to buy booze in the ship's store, and allowed to take it back to your cabin for a $9.00 extra charge, not bad. You were also allowed to bring on all the wine you wanted many years ago.............and they never charged us a corkage fee in the MDR!!!!

This was even cancelled way before the Smith case. Things were really tightened then, and the "naughty room" was born.

I remember, vaguely, when you could buy liquor the first night for extra charge. I'm guessing that changed in 2003 or 2004. I don't recall it ever being allowed to bring wine on. (Although the policy was not enforced as well and the wait staff cared more about getting tips than where your wine came from).

 

In any case, the OP has sailed with RCI more than once with the current policies in place.

[Puffinater]

I know...the person I quoted & responded to had said you could order from an off site company...like Baskets to Go...and have it delviered to the ship...as far as I know THAT practice has been discontinued...

 

My goof. Sorry. I did not see that in the post. You are 100% correct the baskets to go kind of companies are long gone.

[DCwom]

Royal Caribbean's alcohol policy is so out of line with the rest of the cruise industry, that I doubt I will sail again with them.

 

Unbelievable!!

 

I was wondering about user suzyed's 3701 posts so I did some searching. It seems that suzyed is well aware of RCI's booze policy from as early as Aug 2, 2008 ( http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=820312&highlight=smuggling+booze&page=2 ) I'll quote it here for your convenience.

 

"Well I guess I am in the minority too..because if they were denying boarding, I would go elsewhere too. RCI is the only line that forbids bringing wine/champagne onboard...so there are plenty of other choices."

 

So yes, I do find this thread unbelievable!

[time4u2go]

I'm with you, it should lighten, but I don't want to see ppl rocked drunk on my sailings... so I'll take the tighter restrictions to avoid the party boats.

 

Like Princess and Cunard? :rolleyes:

[Heidils]

Was there any resolution to the Smith case, that we know of?

[temple1]

I don't have a problem with purchasing alcohol on the ship. I just wish I could bring my own water. I know some say you can, but it says you can't?????

 

What I will have a problem with is Gatorade. I have to drink it for a medical condition and electrolytes. (Hate the stuff) My Doc will send me with a note and C&A said that shouldn't be a problem. Will try to get that is writing though.

 

I think you can find Gatorade powder - mix up your own on board and a lot easier to transport than all those bottles or cans.

[FLACRUISER99]

I'm with you, it should lighten, but I don't want to see ppl rocked drunk on my sailings... so I'll take the tighter restrictions to avoid the party boats.

 

 

 

Like Princess and Cunard? :rolleyes:

Or Disney?

[grand isle joe]

...it's not the 59 year olds they worry about , it's those pesky 60 year olds that RCL is trying to control with their policies......:eek:

[Puffinater]

I was wondering about user suzyed's 3701 posts so I did some searching. It seems that suzyed is well aware of RCI's booze policy from as early as Aug 2, 2008 ( http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=820312&highlight=smuggling+booze&page=2 ) I'll quote it here for your convenience.

 

"Well I guess I am in the minority too..because if they were denying boarding, I would go elsewhere too. RCI is the only line that forbids bringing wine/champagne onboard...so there are plenty of other choices."

 

So yes, I do find this thread unbelievable!

 

Nice work Sherlock or Columbo or Kojak. :D

[debshomespun]

I have no problem with RC not allowing any type of Alcohol to be brought onto the ship for personal consumption. I would not let that ruin my cruise. If OP has a problem with not being allowed to bring their own bottle, then they need to find another cruiseline to sail with. Since this is their 10th cruise on RC, they know the rules.

[royalcruz]

I've been cruising mostly Royal Caribbean since 1995 and they didn't allow anyone to bring on wine even back then. Even back then, when we bought a bottle in the store onboard it was delivered the last night of the cruise.

 

When we cruise other lines we bring a bottle of champagne (bringing it on ourselves saves about $40 so it is worth it). Half the time we bring it home unopened though because there is so much to do other than sitting in the cabin drinking. (No, I don't want to bring it to the dining room for a corkage fee.)

[Racing fan]

You have to remember just like restaurants a large profit is made on alcohol sales even more than food. Let us look at from a realistic point of view. If they allow you bring your $15.00 bottle of wine on the ship; you have to carry it with you. You can not take it in the passenger section of the plane so you risk having it broken and ruining your clothes. You can buy the bottle on the ship and drink it in the MDR at maybe a cost of $25.00 per bottle. So for $10.00 less you are willing to change cruise lines. What did the cruise cost you? $2500-$4000?

 

I do not get it.

 

An aging 62 year old

[Heidils]

I think you can find Gatorade powder - mix up your own on board and a lot easier to transport than all those bottles or cans.

 

No kidding? I've never heard of it....will look. Yeah that would be a lot easier!

[artypharty]

I believe RCL stopped allowing this several years ago...

 

Just took a cruise with RCCI, had champagne and candy delivered to the room upon embarcation for DH's Birthday! Easy enough and it was a nice surprise.

[nelblu]

If booze is your primary drive in selecting a cruise line, I think you should go with Carnival "the Fun Ships". What a shame!

[bbbearden]

So basically you choose your cruise line by alcohol policy. I can see where that would make or break a vacation.

 

Ship size, atmosphere, amenities, itineraries, etc. are not important, its all about being able to bring your precious bottle of wine on with you.

 

Dozens of bars are not enough. You need your little nippy bottle in your room.

 

Ditto, my thoughts exactly. If the issue is truely one bottle of wine seems it would not break any of us to purchase it from the cruise line. Would it be nice to have a looser policy yes, it is a deal breaker for most of us, NO.

[monicajay]

I am not loyal to one cruise line and certainly wouldn't chose a cruise based on if I could bring on wine or not. I must say though, on our last cruise, an NCL they allowed us to bring on bottles and charged $15.00 per 750ml bottle. This allows people to have 'favorite' wines and the cruise line still makes some money off it. We carried on 3 bottles.

 

I thought it was a great compromise.

 

Next cruise is RCL and we accept the terms.

[PH8]

Just took a cruise with RCCI, had champagne and candy delivered to the room upon embarcation for DH's Birthday! Easy enough and it was a nice surprise.

Thru RCCL's Gifts and Gears or an outside source??:confused:

[PH8]

I am not loyal to one cruise line and certainly wouldn't chose a cruise based on if I could bring on wine or not. I must say though, on our last cruise, an NCL they allowed us to bring on bottles and charged $15.00 per 750ml bottle. This allows people to have 'favorite' wines and the cruise line still makes some money off it. We carried on 3 bottles.

 

I thought it was a great compromise.

 

Next cruise is RCL and we accept the terms.

Celebrity lets you bring on 2 bottles of wine per person........