Alcohol policy

[balf]

As with the outrageously over priced photographs, so with the wine. If they reduced the prices more pax would would buy and less would be imported via hand baggage.

 

David.

[HelloKittysMum]

On our recent crossing a woman (couldn't call her a lady) on a near table had a bottle of some spirit in her handbag which she was pouring into a glass of ice which she had asked for. And then also offered around to other people on her shared table. Got away with it for 2 nights but then was spotted by sommelier who advised her of the corkage charge. It didn't come out again. Sad thing is that sommelier told us that it will probably cost him his day off because she'll give bad fed back / complain about him and if too many people do that he loses his day off. He had lost a day off a few weeks previous becuase people complained (mostly about prices). I filled in one of those feedback staff forms because he was so good and knowledgeable and always had our children's drinks on the table ready for them.

[kendon]

Lakesregion, the allowance by Cunard is one bottle of wine per person...no cheating involved.

I do understand your point otherwise as I've heard of others bringing on cases of water and soda on other cruiselines, sharing a single soda card, selling unused coffee cards on ebay, etc. I don't agree with that behavior at all.

[Underwatr]

Lakesregion, the allowance by Cunard is one bottle of wine per person...no cheating involved.

The published policy is one bottle per person but elsewhere in the FAQs Cunard says that the one-bottle policy is enforced only as an exception and in reality passengers may and do carry on more than that quantity in full view with no interference.

[Dajo5601]

mum2Bowie, I usually take 4 bottles of my favourite Merlot on every cruise. They are in my hand luggage and I have never had a comment or problem when boarding and hopefully when I do the same on our October voyage, the same will happen once more.

[Scriv]

I do tend to agree with you, balf, that people would buy more if the price was less. I guess it is the obligatory 15% service charge which makes it appear worse, but it does make you think more before you order drinks.

And also agreed about the outrageously overpriced photographs.

Edited August 19, 2015 by Scriv

[Runaways]

No one is being cheated. Nothing is being snuck aboard. Cunard's policy welcomes passengers to bring on wine and liquor at embarkation and at ports of call without the need for subterfuge.

Of course if his doesn't imply that you should do so yourself.

 

Completely agree! Also, taking wine or other drinks aboard doesn't necessarily have anything to do with one's ability to pay for what the ship has on offer: Cruise lines make a lot of money using their considerable purchasing power/duty free status, and the mark-up plus 15% auto-tip can turn a reasonably priced bottle of wine into something else - expensive. We also have favourite wines we want to consume on board and accept a substantial 'corkage' fee will be levied in the restaurants in that case. Fair enough. However, enjoying a drink or two in your own accommodation is what adults do, so no 'cheating' is involved.

[Lakesregion]

 

While I have never felt the need to have an adult beverage while showering and getting dressed for the evening, I assume that Cunard would be happy to provide you with one. Therefore, I look on brining ones own on board as cheating. If I am wrong and a room service adult beverage can not be purchased and you need one to get the evening started then no it is not cheating.

 

Guess I need that point clarified.

[Host Hattie]

Of course Cunard will provide beverages via Room Service but they also allow you to bring drinks on board so I fail to see how doing just that can be looked on as cheating.

[Scriv]

In any top class hotel on land guests are allowed to bring in their own drinks for consumption in the room. I can't see the difference.

[Lakesregion]

Ok, I guess it all depends on what the definition of "is" is. And we shall leave it at that.

[PORT ROYAL]

There is no cheating involved, that's one of the pleasures of sailing with Cunard - being treated as an adult !

I don't think they have anything to fear from us "cheating the system". A glass of bubbly whilst getting ready doesn't stop us managing a cocktail before dinner and wine with.

 

Hattie

 

This appears to be a thread where many people are fluent in different languages.

 

These are my thoughts, as it would appear there are two poles which will always remain apart.

 

Pole 1

For my part, I bring a bottle of top end rum, because the ship does not stock it. The same with two bottles of good red wine. But, for all other beverages, albeit in bars and restaurants, we look for the ship to supply, and purchase.

 

After all we are on vacation, so our premise is just enjoy and go with the flow/ship. The same being for a land based Hotel.

 

Pole 2

There are those having a thought process on "I do not wish to pay for any alcoholic drinks on the ship, therefore I will deliberately bring on as much cheap booze as I can on, and condemn, or dismiss, anyone who has a different point of view, or indicate "price" as an excuse".

 

After all we we are seeking a cheap, cheap vacation, and wish it to remain so, doing everything we can to achieve our goal.

[Underwatr]

One is permitted to purchase a glass of wine in a bar and subsequently carry that wine into the dining room. In my view the line is crossed when someone pours a glass of wine from a bottle in their stateroom and carries that glass into Britannia. I've seen it done...

[PORT ROYAL]

One is permitted to purchase a glass of wine in a bar and subsequently carry that wine into the dining room. In my view the line is crossed when someone pours a glass of wine from a bottle in their stateroom and carries that glass into Britannia. I've seen it done...

 

 

It is also bad form and totally naff.

[Runaways]

While I have never felt the need to have an adult beverage while showering and getting dressed for the evening, I assume that Cunard would be happy to provide you with one. Therefore, I look on brining ones own on board as cheating. If I am wrong and a room service adult beverage can not be purchased and you need one to get the evening started then no it is not cheating.

 

Guess I need that point clarified.

 

Of course there's no "need to have an adult beverage while showering and getting dressed". Who would want to water their drink down in the shower!! - and we don't need to steady our hands to do up buttons either. However, when on holiday, sitting on the balcony or catching up on TV news before our preferred late dinner, a glass of what you fancy - whether delivered by room service or brought on board as allowed - is very pleasant indeed. BYO is not 'cheating' - an odd description of behaviour accepted by those that matter, Cunard management.

[Tampa Girl]

Ok, I guess it all depends on what the definition of "is" is. And we shall leave it at that.

 

This is Webster's definition:

 

"...to break a rule or law usually to gain an advantage at something

 

: to take something from (someone) by lying or breaking a rule

 

: to prevent (someone) from having something that he or she deserves or was expecting to get"

 

Your accusation of cheating does not come under any definition.

[suzyed]

Just wondering - Do all of you that bring wine and other adult beverages on board also carry a bottle or two when you check into a land based hotel and do you also bring your own adult beverages to land based restaurants that sell booze? If not why do it on a ship?

 

The answer is yes! We do bring a bottle to a hotel from time to time to enjoy in the evening. And yes, we do bring a bottle of wine to some land based restaurants and pay a corkage fee just as we do on a cruise.

Why? Many times the wine we like is not on the menu, or we are celebrating a special occasion and they don't have the champagne/wine we like or it's at a price that is beyond reasonable.

Twice we have brought on board a bottle of very nice red wine that was a gift from our children for our anniversary. The Maitre D told us it was an honor to open and serve this one particular bottle! And we recently brought a bottle of "Dom" to a restaurant to celebrate our 40th anniversary...again a gift from our children. The waiter told us we had very good taste! I said, well, yes, our children do!

This IS done at many fine dining venues...it is not unusual nor is it frowned upon.

Edited August 23, 2015 by suzyed

[suzyed]

We spent hundreds of dollars last week and the week before on wine and cocktails. We also spent euros on wine and vodka in shops in port. We took it back on board with no problems for drinking in our stateroom. The only problem was that we forgot to take a corkscrew. All the wine we bought had corks rather than screw tops!

 

I rarely drink but travelled with a companion who is used to drinking, and I was encouraged to join him. I enjoyed it! I think a combination of buying on the ship plus buying in port is acceptable.

 

Do remember to take a corkscrew! ;)

 

Any ships we have sailed on, will provide a corkscrew if requested. ;)

[suzyed]

I never bothered bringing wine with me on a cruise ship, but I can imagine one reason why one might want to: the Cunard wine list (the very same everywhere) is a bit weirdly built. There are many gaps in it, wine types or regions that are rather poorly covered, or in a patchy way. Also, value for money is sometimes seriously questionable. So if one would want to bother with lugging around a number of wine bottles on top of the already bulky luggage that one normally has to take on a cruise, it might actually make sense, be it to drink in the stateroom or in the dining room.

 

I agree with you on Cunard's wine list...some very odd selections. We like a nice cabernet with dinner and I saw very few of those on the list.

[suzyed]

I guess the question arises out of what my parents did many many years ago (I am 76). They always took a bottle with them because they barely had enough money to pay for the motel or hotel room let alone have a beverage before or during dinner. In fact when motels raised their rates on the NJ to FL run they just drove longer each day so the trip was only one night out instead of a more relaxing two.

 

So I always looked at the practice as being done by those who had very little extra cash and needed a way to cheat out the system to survive. Also being a small business owner, I find the practice as one of taking income away from the very person who is allowing you the opportunity to enjoy the experience. I realize that people do not see mega corporations as having this problem but multiply one lost bottle of wine or drink times 3,000 passengers times more than one day. Sort of like a corporation with 20,000 employees, the taking of a single paper clip by one employee is nothing multiply that by 20,000 and you are talking serious shrinkages.

 

Compound that by so many people posting in all manner of threads about cheating out the dress code, the beverage policy, looking for the upgrade fairy and so on and you wonder if anyone is willing to pay a fair price for anything anymore.

 

No one is "cheating"....if you read the policy, it is not prohibited and no one is sneaking it on. Maybe it is not done in New Hampshire, but it is common practice to do it elsewhere. If restaurants (and cruise ships) didn't want you to do it, they wouldn't offer it nor would they be willing to accept a corkage fee be paid.

[suzyed]

There is no cheating involved, that's one of the pleasures of sailing with Cunard - being treated as an adult !

I don't think they have anything to fear from us "cheating the system". A glass of bubbly whilst getting ready doesn't stop us managing a cocktail before dinner and wine with.

 

Host Hattie, I so agree with you...we are adults, we aren't spring breakers sneaking vodka in our water bottles!! :rolleyes:

[suzyed]

The published policy is one bottle per person but elsewhere in the FAQs Cunard says that the one-bottle policy is enforced only as an exception and in reality passengers may and do carry on more than that quantity in full view with no interference.

 

Right!

 

I'm not really sure why we are all being viewed as cheaters and sneaks. Not one person has mentioned secretly smuggling any contraband onto the ship. It sounds to me, like every one is trying to adhere to the policies of the cruise line. :) :confused:

[suzyed]

Of course there's no "need to have an adult beverage while showering and getting dressed". Who would want to water their drink down in the shower!! - and we don't need to steady our hands to do up buttons either. However, when on holiday, sitting on the balcony or catching up on TV news before our preferred late dinner, a glass of what you fancy - whether delivered by room service or brought on board as allowed - is very pleasant indeed. BYO is not 'cheating' - an odd description of behaviour accepted by those that matter, Cunard management.

 

I like the way you think and I enjoy your sense of humor! ;)

[balf]

Although we don't ever bring wine aboard: we drink very little anyway and a glass with dinner is about our norm, I can understand why most folk do. Let's be honest, it's to save money because of the overpriced drinks on the ship. Dress it up as you like but that's the real reason.

 

People do regard cruise time as the time to drink lots more than they normally do at home. It's a big part of the experience for them. But to drink well with Cunard could easily cost as much as the original price paid for the cruise.

 

I can only talk of wine and and a particular one I tried (just the once) was a white, Stonebarn at, if I recall around $40. Similar to the wine you will find on the bottom shelf in Asda (Walmart) at a fiver. No serious wine drinker would buy it and really you have to look north of $60 to find anything decent.

 

And anyway it's between Cunard and the individual passenger and they could bring in measures to stop the imports if they wished, as with other lines.

 

David.

[suzyed]

Although we don't ever bring wine aboard: we drink very little anyway and a glass with dinner is about our norm, I can understand why most folk do. Let's be honest, it's to save money because of the overpriced drinks on the ship. Dress it up as you like but that's the real reason.

 

People do regard cruise time as the time to drink lots more than they normally do at home. It's a big part of the experience for them. But to drink well with Cunard could easily cost as much as the original price paid for the cruise.

 

I can only talk of wine and and a particular one I tried (just the once) was a white, Stonebarn at, if I recall around $40. Similar to the wine you will find on the bottom shelf in Asda (Walmart) at a fiver. No serious wine drinker would buy it and really you have to look north of $60 to find anything decent.

 

And anyway it's between Cunard and the individual passenger and they could bring in measures to stop the imports if they wished, as with other lines.

 

David.

 

And let's be honest, if you don't know wine or enjoy fine wines, you wouldn't understand that someone would want a good wine at a fair price. Cunard understands that while they have a wide selection of wines from all over the world to satisfy the many different passengers, they know that it is a limited selection at best and I believe that is why they let you bring your own and charge the corkage fee which we are just fine with. I perused the wine list and there were maybe 4 brands that even sounded familiar and none were of the brands and types we drink (except for the fine Champagne selection).