Sneaking alcohol on board cruise ships!

[kcwingwalker]

After reading the various posts, I'm mulling over the thought of throwing off passengers with contraband booze. Now I'm not agreeing or disagreeing, but can you imagine the number of cruisers taken off a 3 day trip to the Bahamas?

[anastasia3939]

Who cares?? I think most smugglers also buy drinks from the cruise ship. It's those darn teetotalers that are the real enemy!!! How dare they??? Do they not realize they are making drinks more expensive for the rest of us?? Children and non drinkers should not be allowed on the cruise ships following that logic. How many drinks do I have to buy to be found acceptable?

[navybankerteacher]

All this conversation about the "logic" or "fairness" of cruise lines' policies ignores the one underlying bit of logic: cruise lines only stay in business if they are profitable, the competition among lines for passengers who have to be lured with low fares means that lines must earn their profit from on-board sales, on-board sales will suffer if passengers bring their own liquor on board.

 

There are all-inclusive lines which do not require passengers to pay for every drink they want to have in their cabin. However there are passengers who like the idea of very cheap fares and still feel entitled to evade the policies which make those cheap fares possible.

 

Conversations about being willing to pay reasonable prices but resenting unreasonable prices are just smokescreens: it is human nature to want everything - and to go to great lengths to justify that want.

[DirtyDawg]

After reading the various posts, I'm mulling over the thought of throwing off passengers with contraband booze. Now I'm not agreeing or disagreeing, but can you imagine the number of cruisers taken off a 3 day trip to the Bahamas?

 

LOL They'd be ghost ships!;)

 

Could you just imagine all the lost revenue (and profit!) from all the other on-board sources if a cruise line actually did start to throw people off the ship for trying to smuggle booze? Lost Casinos revenues, lost 'art' sales, lost photo sales, lost excursion revenues, lost specialty restaurant revenues, etc, etc.

 

The cruise lines would never do this of course because they make their money from people who are actually on the ships, not those standing at the pier after being thrown off.

 

Frankly, I don't care if someone smuggles booze or not. Just like I don't care if someone gambles or not, or buys 'art' or photos or not, or goes to the spa or not. I'll let all those MBA's and CPA's at the cruise lines worry about that kind of stuff, I'm on vacation.:)

[ducklite]

My thoughts are that if it's such a big deal to someone, they should either book a ship that allows you to carry on whatever you would like to drink, or is all inclusive, including alcohol. Why people and cruise lines play such games is beyond me.

 

 

Autocorrect responsible for most typos...

[cruzeluver]

Sad that as I type this the three threads at the top of the page are:

 

-sneaking on alcohol

 

-skipping the muster drill

 

-cheating at trivia

[Sharon1225]

I love that they've gone to the drink packages. I can pre-pay all my alcohol purchases months in advance of actually boarding the ship, and never worry about it. I have friends who smuggle alcohol and I've never understood it. It's just not worth it to me.

 

The beverage packages are better than smuggling. Unless you like drinks mixed with water or straight up, it's easier to just go up to the bar and get a drink to take to your room. We didn't get ice delivered to the room on our recent cruise. Mixers are difficult to smuggle. It's also cheaper to run to a bar for a drink on your beverage package than to use liquor you had to pay for.

 

With the beverage packages, the cruise lines are not likely to go to a whole lot of effort to catch people smuggling. If the person buys a beverage package, and most do, why should they care that they use their own alcohol instead of the ship's?

[lilricky67]

My wife and I are not big drinkers and we might have a few drinks on a night or two of a cruise. For the remaining days, we aren't purchasing alcohol. From the sounds of it on this board, we are also responsible for higher prices. I would like to apologize to everyone here for that...lol.

 

I would also like to apologize for being "cheap" as I have:shopped around for low prices before booking, have booked an inside stateroom, purchased a drink package (sodas) which allowed me to not pay as much for my coke (which in turn is driving up the price for those buying ala carte), booked an excursion privately because the price was less, drove to the ship instead of flying, was bumped up a class without paying for it, etc., etc. I think I even brought a bottle of coke on board one time in my carry on. I now see the errors of my ways.

 

You know what, if you want to spend your time, your energy and your vacation getting all worked up over stuff, go right ahead. I will spend mine avoiding the complainers and enjoying my vacation.

 

That's my 1 cent. I would give 2, but I'm cheap!

Edited January 9, 2014 by lilricky67

[AZ Ocean Lover]

On my first cruise I was obsessed with finding a way to smuggle. I brought 6 little minis with me of after dinner drinks. At the end of the cruise there were six little minis there, untouched. While I do find it fun the try to think of ways to do it (have you seen the little plastic pouches of 2 oz of rum that they sell at Total Wines?) I haven't done it in years. I'm a Skky Vodka drinker and on Princess you can get a 375 liter bottle for $17. We have our cocktails on our balcony but we buy plenty of drinks throughout the cruise. I've just spent a lot of money for a plane flight and the cruise itself. I think I can spring for a $17 bottle of vodka.

[CaroleSS]

You know what, if you want to spend your time, your energy and your vacation getting all worked up over stuff, go right ahead. I will spend mine avoiding the complainers and enjoying my vacation.

 

That's my 1 cent. I would give 2, but I'm cheap!

 

lilrickey.....you are now my HERO!!!

[euro cruiser]

On my first cruise I was obsessed with finding a way to smuggle. I brought 6 little minis with me of after dinner drinks. At the end of the cruise there were six little minis there, untouched. While I do find it fun the try to think of ways to do it (have you seen the little plastic pouches of 2 oz of rum that they sell at Total Wines?) I haven't done it in years. I'm a Skky Vodka drinker and on Princess you can get a 375 liter bottle for $17. We have our cocktails on our balcony but we buy plenty of drinks throughout the cruise. I've just spent a lot of money for a plane flight and the cruise itself. I think I can spring for a $17 bottle of vodka.

Us as well. For our first cruise from the US we spent half of the morning going to Total Wines in Ft. Lauderdale and carrying on a case of wine for the four adults to drink on our balconies. Toward the end of the 12 days we were pushing to finish the last few bottles rather than carry them back off.

 

Once we discovered how economical it was to simply purchase full bottles of liquor from the ship and have it delivered to our room we no longer bother with carrying anything on. The small increase in price to purchase it from the ship (vs. the local liquor store) seemed small vs. the hassle of trying to sneak it on. Now we drink mixed drinks in the cabin rather than wine, and just purchase mixers from the bar.

[marco]

I don't really "sneak" it on, but I am very particular about my Vodka and I've never seen the brand I prefer offered on any line. So.....I bring a bottle in my carry on. If they confiscate it...so be it. But to date, they never have on Princess, HAL, "X", or RCI.

[Sharon1225]

Us as well. For our first cruise from the US we spent half of the morning going to Total Wines in Ft. Lauderdale and carrying on a case of wine for the four adults to drink on our balconies. Toward the end of the 12 days we were pushing to finish the last few bottles rather than carry them back off.

 

Once we discovered how economical it was to simply purchase full bottles of liquor from the ship and have it delivered to our room we no longer bother with carrying anything on. The small increase in price to purchase it from the ship (vs. the local liquor store) seemed small vs. the hassle of trying to sneak it on. Now we drink mixed drinks in the cabin rather than wine, and just purchase mixers from the bar.

 

That's interesting. The ships I've been on will sell you bottles of alcohol, but they hold it for you until you get off. Then if you are flying home, you have a problem. I wasn't aware any ships would let you buy a bottle and drink it in your room.

 

The issue of smuggling really is history since just about all cruise lines are offering beverage packages. They takes away the need to smuggle.

[Sharon1225]

We have or vacations invested with Marriott. We've built up reward points and bought time share points. That's our main vacation. We don't enjoy cruises as much as we do land trips, but ever once in awhile we like to take a short cruise. I find it interesting to see people here calling others cheap. I will try to save as much money as I can on cruises.

[crystalspin]

@ Sharon1225

 

Norwegian will sell you a bottle (I think there is a limit of one per person pre-cruise bar setup) before or during your cruise. The price is $80, $100, or $120 depending on brand and "flavor". So it is a lot more than buying it at home, but a bit over half of buying it by the drink on board... and you can make a drink in your room and carry it anywhere on board, although we didn't.

[YubaSutter]

We smuggle on every cruise. Usually saves us over $500. Our last bar tab was less than $7. 6 bottles of wine, a case of beer, and 3 liters of booze in rumrunners.

[CruiseAddict1982]

We have or vacations invested with Marriott. We've built up reward points and bought time share points. That's our main vacation. We don't enjoy cruises as much as we do land trips, but ever once in awhile we like to take a short cruise. I find it interesting to see people here calling others cheap. I will try to save as much money as I can on cruises.

 

Do you bring your own burgers to McDonald's? Do you bring your own alcohol to restaurants?

[CruiseAddict1982]

We smuggle on every cruise. Usually saves us over $500. Our last bar tab was less than $7. 6 bottles of wine, a case of beer, and 3 liters of booze in rumrunners.

 

Lol wow! How do u get a case of beer on a cruise ship? I'm not going to do it just curious

[CruiseAddict1982]

I don't really "sneak" it on, but I am very particular about my Vodka and I've never seen the brand I prefer offered on any line. So.....I bring a bottle in my carry on. If they confiscate it...so be it. But to date, they never have on Princess, HAL, "X", or RCI.

 

What kind of vodka?

[vnyislesv]

i dont remember anyone ever saying theyve been caught when putting rum runners in their check in luggage.

 

http://www.rumrunnerflasks.com/

 

it takes 2 minutes and very simple.

 

you call it cheap, i call it smart. you hate me for it, i laugh at you for stressing out of what other people do when it doesnt effect you.

 

i bring my mixer with me. 12 cans of club soda. legal to bring. a water bottle to bring the vodka around the ship.

 

keep hating, i like it. $40 and ill drink when i want, how i want and where i want. :)

[jwm51]

Does POPCORN count as a vegetable:confused:

 

Just curious...:p:D

[CruiseAddict1982]

i dont remember anyone ever saying theyve been caught when putting rum runners in their check in luggage.

 

http://www.rumrunnerflasks.com/

 

it takes 2 minutes and very simple.

 

you call it cheap, i call it smart. you hate me for it, i laugh at you for stressing out of what other people do when it doesnt effect you.

 

i bring my mixer with me. 12 cans of club soda. legal to bring. a water bottle to bring the vodka around the ship.

 

keep hating, i like it. $40 and ill drink when i want, how i want and where i want. :)

 

No one mentioned hating anyone in this thread. Most said it's cheap and I'm not stressing about it's just conversation

[LMaxwell]

Does POPCORN count as a vegetable:confused:

 

Just curious...:p:D

 

Corn is not a vegetable. It is a grain. You can make corn whiskey from it if you take a long enough cruise and book a room with a tub.

[CruiseAddict1982]

We are all entitled to our opinions on this matter and my opinion is if you do it you're cheap and it effects everyone somehow whether it be higher cruise fares or higher drink packages. Sneaking around trying to get ice for your smuggled drink is cheap.

[jwm51]

I DID NOT know that!:eek:;)

 

Now I know what to do if I book a suite or mini-suite!:D:D:D