Alcohol Policy Princess

[thommo119]

Has anyone experienced the implementation of the alcohol rule? I usually take on a bottle to have a drink prior to going out & my bar bill is usually healthy so don't see why line is ticking people off!!!

[Loonbeam]

There are literally dozens of threads on this (including the one currently right below this one on my list).

 

Do we really need another?

 

Has anyone experienced the implementation of the alcohol rule? I usually take on a bottle to have a drink prior to going out & my bar bill is usually healthy so don't see why line is ticking people off!!!

[cruisesusie]

Last month on the Star my husband's alcohol was taken from his checked bag and destroyed. There's a long thread about this topic a few pages back.

 

Susan

[eandj]

A bottle of wine is allowed per adult with no fee.

You mention "alcohol". That is and never has been allowed policy-wise. If you are asking if it will be taken from you...they do have the right to. And when you book the cruise, you sign the agreement acknowledging that.

So... whether they will "catch" the smuggled goods is a good question for a crystal ball. No one here can tell you what will happen. But you know the "rule". ;)

[cherylandtk]

...I usually take on a bottle to have a drink prior to going out & my bar bill is usually healthy so don't see why line is ticking people off...

Because your bar bill would be even healthier if you were not sipping from your own bottle.

[JimmyVWine]

I usually take on a bottle to have a drink prior to going out & my bar bill is usually healthy so don't see why line is ticking people off!!!

 

People often overlook the fact that policies pertaining to alcohol are in some ways linked to income, (they want you buying their alcohol and not drinking yours for free, and the cruise fares reflect this compared to "all-inclusive lines); but they are also linked to deterrence. By making passengers buy drinks, they are a lot less likely to drink 10 drinks a day and get sloppy. Allowing unlimited alcohol to be brought on would do nothing to deter outright alcohol abuse by a small, but visible and obnoxious minority. The cruise line isn't trying to "tick" anyone off. They are trying to capture revenue and at the same time, deter rampant drunkeness. The almighty dollar is very good at doing that latter for most folks. There are exceptions, of course.

[Cauzneffct]

Has anyone experienced the implementation of the alcohol rule? I usually take on a bottle to have a drink prior to going out & my bar bill is usually healthy so don't see why line is ticking people off!!!

 

I find this line of rationalization to be a bit strange. You claim you have a "healthy" bar bill, which would indicate that you find the alcohol which is available for purchase on the ship to be palatable. In that case, you could purchase a bottle from Princess for consumption in your room prior to going out.

 

Further, if you have a "healthy" bar bill, it would indicate that your finances are such that you can afford to and do pay for alcohol on board. If that's the case, then why even bother with the potential hassle of getting caught sneaking booze on board?

[cruisenuts4life]

We were on Ruby in 2010 and my brother in law only drinks heinikein and they didn't have it on ship so we were told that each person could bring a sixpack back on ship.

[eandj]

We were on Ruby in 2010 and my brother in law only drinks heinikein and they didn't have it on ship so we were told that each person could bring a sixpack back on ship.

 

 

Those were the "good old days".:D Times have changed obviously.

[satxdiver]

We boarded the Island in San Francisco and they charged us $15 for every bottle over the two bottle limit before we boarded. We signed a charge slip that appeared on our ship bill. When we were on our last port call in Aruba, I brought a liter of gin aboard because the price was too good to pass up. The ship security during reboarding did not say a word and there was no alcohol table so I took it to the cabin. We had two sea days before disembarking and I could have had a very good time but didn't. I bought it to take home.

 

I don't know about the bottles, but the rum runners seem to be very successful in getting aboard. Not of course that I would ever use them. :rolleyes:

[SeaBands]

we sailed on the Diamond from Sydney a few years ago and was called down for

an examination of my luggage. they took away a small kitchen knife which I brought to cut limes and left 2 1.75's of vodka and rum in my bag.

[eandj]

we sailed on the Diamond from Sydney a few years ago and was called down for

an examination of my luggage. they took away a small kitchen knife which I brought to cut limes and left 2 1.75's of vodka and rum in my bag.

 

 

This is great!!!!:D:D

[SenorBruce]

Have cruised 26 times on Princess, never have had an issue from Princess regarding liquor brought on board at embarkation. Have had issues with carry on liquor with the Port of Authority--NY. The Port will confiscate and if you are lucky enough to return to the same port (usually Brooklyn) you will get your booze back. Princess has the right to confiscate, we all agree to that when we sign the cruise contract. I don't believe they can effectively x-ray over 4000 pieces of luggage and then deliver to your cabin in 4 hours. I have no reason to doubt those cruisers who have been caught smuggling but I have never heard personally that booze has been confiscated.

[Griller]

People often overlook the fact that policies pertaining to alcohol are in some ways linked to income, (they want you buying their alcohol and not drinking yours for free, and the cruise fares reflect this compared to "all-inclusive lines); but they are also linked to deterrence. By making passengers buy drinks, they are a lot less likely to drink 10 drinks a day and get sloppy. Allowing unlimited alcohol to be brought on would do nothing to deter outright alcohol abuse by a small, but visible and obnoxious minority. The cruise line isn't trying to "tick" anyone off. They are trying to capture revenue and at the same time, deter rampant drunkeness. The almighty dollar is very good at doing that latter for most folks. There are exceptions, of course.

 

Except of course they now have the all you care to drink sticker - so really its not to prevent drunkenness, its just to make more money.

Not that I 've ever seen anyone more than "happy" on Princess

[Lovetocruiseprincess]

Has anyone experienced the implementation of the alcohol rule? I usually take on a bottle to have a drink prior to going out & my bar bill is usually healthy so don't see why line is ticking people off!!!

 

Yes, they are getting stricter on checking for extra wine & alcohol at the embarkation ports lately but you can still get away with taking some alcohol in either RumRummers or repackaging it in a different bottle. They're looking for distinct size liquor bottles & not smaller ones like a soda bottle in your carry on luggage.

[jammen]

Has anyone experienced the implementation of the alcohol rule? I usually take on a bottle to have a drink prior to going out & my bar bill is usually healthy so don't see why line is ticking people off!!!

 

2 bottles of wine only per stateroom.

[Woobstr112G]

Yes, they are getting stricter on checking for extra wine & alcohol at the embarkation ports lately but you can still get away with taking some alcohol in either RumRummers or repackaging it in a different bottle. They're looking for distinct size liquor bottles & not smaller ones like a soda bottle in your carry on luggage.

 

 

But that would be illegal.....:D:D:D

 

Bob

[JimmyVWine]

2 bottles of wine only per stateroom.

 

This is not correct. There is no limitation on the amount of wine/Champagne that can be brought on board. The first bottle per person is free and remains free if consumed in the cabin. If it is brought to a public dining area or lounge, a $15 corkage fee will be assessed. All additional bottles beyond this one free bottle are assessed a $15 corkage fee at the time of embarkation. If for some reason they do not collect the fee at the time you board, the fee will be added if you bring the wine to a public dining area or lounge. If you drink it in your cabin, it remains free. Note that the free vs. charged bottles are calculated on a "first bottle per person" and not "two bottles per stateroom" basis. Hence, if you travel solo, your "stateroom" only gets one bottle free. And if you travel as 3 adults in a cabin, your stateroom gets 3 bottles free.

[Lovetocruiseprincess]

 

But that would be illegal.....:D:D:D

 

Bob

 

You're so right.....and much cheaper that buying their drinks for $8 each. :p

[JimmyVWine]

You're so right.....and much cheaper that buying their drinks for $8 each. :p

Yes, but.....

A 375ml bottle of Rum gifted to yourself and waiting for you on board costs $17. Bombay Sapphire Gin costs $22. Using 1.5 ounces as the standard drink size, you would get roughly 12 drinks per 375ml bottle. For the rum, that comes out to $1.40 per drink (with no need to tip yourself. :D) For the Gin, that comes out to $1.83 per drink.

 

If you smuggle those same bottles (or the contents thereof) on board, first you have to buy them. The rum would cost around $8 and the gin would cost around $13. So your do-it-yourself drinks would cost you $0.66 and $1.08 respectively. And that does not add in the cost of whatever stealth device one had to by to get the liquid on board the ship. Are the risks associated with smuggling liquor on board really worth the savings achieved by driving down the price of a drink from $1.40-$1.83 to $0.66-$1.08? I can understand the desire of folks to bypass $8.00 drinks. But isn't the solution to gift yourself a bottle or two? It's not as if the smuggled-on liquor was free.

Edited October 16, 2014 by JimmyVWine

[COMBOY]

Has anyone experienced the implementation of the alcohol rule? I usually take on a bottle to have a drink prior to going out & my bar bill is usually healthy so don't see why line is ticking people off!!!

 

I'm sorry to tell you this, but I just off the Golden Princess and boy Princess has made it very clear they do not want anyone bring on anything more then two bottles of wine or champagne at embarkation for free. Absolutely no hard liquor. They are scanning everything at ever port and have tables set up to tag any liquor you buy in port and hold until the end of the cruise. The days of bringing liquor on board are gone. The only other option is using clear plastic Rumrunners, but I'm not sure about the success rate.

[Lovetocruiseprincess]

Yes, but.....

A 375ml bottle of Rum gifted to yourself and waiting for you on board costs $17. Bombay Sapphire Gin costs $22. Using 1.5 ounces as the standard drink size, you would get roughly 12 drinks per 375ml bottle. For the rum, that comes out to $1.40 per drink (with no need to tip yourself. :D) For the Gin, that comes out to $1.83 per drink.

 

If you smuggle those same bottles (or the contents thereof) on board, first you have to buy them. The rum would cost around $8 and the gin would cost around $13. So your do-it-yourself drinks would cost you $0.66 and $1.08 respectively. And that does not add in the cost of whatever stealth device one had to by to get the liquid on board the ship. Are the risks associated with smuggling liquor on board really worth the savings achieved by driving down the price of a drink from $1.40-$1.83 to $0.66-$1.08? I can understand the desire of folks to bypass $8.00 drinks. But isn't the solution to gift yourself a bottle or two? It's not as if the smuggled-on liquor was free.

I'm not about to argue the economics of liquor purchased off the ship (St Thomas prices) since you're dead set against it but to me it is cheaper by a long shot & really no extra bother to pack my own from home considering what Princess charges. $45 per liter for rum or $58 per liter for gin is a little rich for my taste.

To each his own.:rolleyes:

[NativeSoCal]

We just cruised on the Golden at the end of Sept.

4 day California coastal.

 

For "testing purposes" we brought liquor in our checked bags, using three different methods.

They all made it through. :D

 

As others have said, they have to scan over 4,000 pieces of luggage, and then get it to your cabin, within a 4 hour time frame, (or less)

 

They definitely aren't going to catch everything.

 

 

PS - We also purchased the all inclusive drink package on board.

Hey, I work hard, I'm gonna play hard.

:cool:

[JimmyVWine]

I'm not about to argue the economics of liquor purchased off the ship (St Thomas prices) since you're dead set against it but to me it is cheaper by a long shot & really no extra bother to pack my own from home considering what Princess charges. $45 per liter for rum or $58 per liter for gin is a little rich for my taste.

To each his own.:rolleyes:

I never said that I was "dead set against it". I said that I don't quite understand it. No matter how you slice it, $8 at Total Wine in Ft Lauderdale versus $17 on board is a savings of $9. If one wants to say that $9 is "cheaper by a long shot", then I suppose that all boils down to how one values a ten dollar bill. Even if you bring your bottle from home, you have to account for the fixed cost of what you originally paid. On no level is the bottle "free" unless it was gifted or won. I just don't understand the angst behind "Rum Runners" and other methods of secretion over a $9 savings. I don't view that as "cheaper by a long shot". You do. So we just differ.

[WAVTAM]

On the Grand presently.....Thought security screen identify my four bottles and said to check in with Princess table (which was 500 feet away), I just rolled carry-on right by.