I see now why people sneak alcohol on the ship

[sparks1093]

Agreed. Its a total rip off. The lines are serving liquior duty free so their margins are even higher than the land based taverns. Some of the lines allow you to buy liquior for your stateroom before you board. I did this with NCL and PCL. RCL doesn't have this.

 

They are buying large quantities of liquor for far less than a consumer can but I don't think that it's duty free- one of the conditions of duty free is that you are buying it for your own use and not for resale. It's not a rip off, they offer to sell it at a specified price and you can buy it or not (a rip off would be if they said they were selling you Petron and substituted it for a lesser brand).

[CruiserBruce]

It is duty free is certain locations- ships will take on large loads of alcohol in St Thomas because they can get it there duty free. At least they used to be able to. But not everywhere.

 

Of course none of the local bars or lounges have to transport that alcohol around the ocean for a week or more. But I suppose that is free also...

Edited April 10, 2016 by CruiserBruce

[leaveitallbehind]

We pay about $3.75 -$4 for a domestic beer at home. In our vacation spot, we pay $2-3.50 for domestic beer. Usually around $4 for mixed drinks. The ships prices are BEYOND normal mark-up...it's gouging!

 

As far as paying high prices in a nice restaurant...you are there for a couple hours...not for an entire week!

 

Really? Where might that be? The ships prices are not beyond normal mark up or are gouging - in my experience in many parts of the country over many years of business travel I find the ship prices to be about on a par with most decent restaurants.

 

Misleading information for the OP again CB....

[Quilcruisers]

You are on vacation and when on vacation you tend to buy things and pay more than you would ordinarily. I plan for these expenses in the overall planning of my trip.

 

Yes the drinks are expensive but I buy more drinks on vacation than when home so I justify the additional expense. I like to try new things and enjoy myself so it's just the price you pay.

 

I bring my own wine but others in my family do not drink wine, so they buy drink specials and may have one drink a night at dinner. I have purchased the buckets of beer when at the pool watching the contests but it's all in fun while on vacation. I do a lot of things while on vacation that I don't typically do at home so it's all good.

[Cruzaholic41]

RCL doesn't have this.

 

RCI allows you to board with 2 bottles of wine.

 

Doesn't 100% of the cost of a cruise include the cost of the drinks consumed on that cruise?

 

A sensible person would think so.

[Steviewonder1]

I've never had a problem getting my stuff on board. It all goes in the checked baggage in plastic not GLASS. The two bottles of wine go in thru the X-Ray machine with the carry on baggage. Yes, some get caught, but more do not!

YMMV.

[GUT2407]

If you go to any nice restaurant or club, you will pay more per drink than the cruise lines charge.

 

Couldn't agree more.

[BellaSweet]

These threads always make me laugh. Someone posts that they think the drinks are expensive on a cruise.. then everyone rushes to tell them that the drinks in their town are just as expensive.

 

Its all relative to where you live. Maybe it IS expensive for the OP. I know my usual extra dirty martini is $9 here..and I gladly pay it. I expect to pay that much on a cruise. But a rum/diet is around $4 here..I won't pay the cruise price for it.

 

I don't agree with sneaking alcohol on the ship though.. You won't catch me with rum hidden in my bra ;)

[sparks1093]

These threads always make me laugh. Someone posts that they think the drinks are expensive on a cruise.. then everyone rushes to tell them that the drinks in their town are just as expensive.

 

Its all relative to where you live. Maybe it IS expensive for the OP. I know my usual extra dirty martini is $9 here..and I gladly pay it. I expect to pay that much on a cruise. But a rum/diet is around $4 here..I won't pay the cruise price for it.

 

I don't agree with sneaking alcohol on the ship though.. You won't catch me with rum hidden in my bra ;)

 

On my last cruise a rum/soda was $5.25.

[jwm51]

I love these threads!:p

 

Without going into details (let Yelp be your guide), in San Francisco (!) you can find the following and not ALL are dive bars:

 

1. Gay bar but with plenty of straights going there too in Castro get this HAS $2-3 beer and $4 well drinks Noon to 7pm EVERY DAY! NOT a typo.:eek:

 

2. Certain dive bar near the cable car line downtown serves a 16 ounce beer and a shot CALL OR WELL $6 anytime. There are other bars throughout the city that do this as well for happy hour. Depending on the bar, happy hour could be 2 to 5 hours!;)

 

I STILL don't get paying over $7-8 for any drink.:mad:

 

Point is you need to do research and NOT just plop down on any barstool. P.S. I've NEVER paid for drinks in Vegas or Reno either.:D

[Donray]

Wynn in Las Vegas $16.00 for a cocktail.

 

Hilton on Moorea $17.00 for a cocktail.

[sparks1093]

I love these threads!:p

 

Without going into details (let Yelp be your guide), in San Francisco (!) you can find the following and not ALL are dive bars:

 

1. Gay bar but with plenty of straights going there too in Castro get this HAS $2-3 beer and $4 well drinks Noon to 7pm EVERY DAY! NOT a typo.:eek:

 

2. Certain dive bar near the cable car line downtown serves a 16 ounce beer and a shot CALL OR WELL $6 anytime. There are other bars throughout the city that do this as well for happy hour. Depending on the bar, happy hour could be 2 to 5 hours!;)

 

I STILL don't get paying over $7-8 for any drink.:mad:

 

Point is you need to do research and NOT just plop down on any barstool. P.S. I've NEVER paid for drinks in Vegas or Reno either.:D

 

You pay what the vendor charges. We'll be going to a concert in July and they charge $8.50 for a mixed drink. As with anything else we do we budget for what we want and enjoy ourselves.

[ozscot01]

I did not find the drink prices out of line with what we pay at home. But then I don't drink cocktails at home[emoji6] I suspect it's paying for them all together at the end, and realising what you've managed to put away, that shocks some people.

[RogersRanch]

These threads always make me laugh. Someone posts that they think the drinks are expensive on a cruise.. then everyone rushes to tell them that the drinks in their town are just as expensive.

 

Its all relative to where you live. Maybe it IS expensive for the OP. I know my usual extra dirty martini is $9 here..and I gladly pay it. I expect to pay that much on a cruise. But a rum/diet is around $4 here..I won't pay the cruise price for it.

 

 

Exactly. We're in Texas and "long necks" (bottled beer) are usually around $2

and mixed drinks around $4-$5. We're not big drinkers so the CCL drink package is waaayyyy too much for us. We'll hit the drink specials a night or two, no biggie.

[First and Ten]

I agree with Paul. I don't pay double on a cruise ship for the same drink I order in a nice restaurant in Nashville. What cruise line/ship are you sailing?

 

Roz

 

Agree....I hear stories of these "incredibly expensive" drink prices on cruise ships....I don't think they are that bad....are you going to get $1 beer/wine, no, but as many others point out they are no more expensive than in a restaurant or nice bar

Edited April 15, 2016 by First and Ten

[kimlovesfl]

We pay about $3.75 -$4 for a domestic beer at home. In our vacation spot, we pay $2-3.50 for domestic beer. Usually around $4 for mixed drinks. The ships prices are BEYOND normal mark-up...it's gouging!

 

As far as paying high prices in a nice restaurant...you are there for a couple hours...not for an entire week!

 

Where the heck do you live? I found the drinks on board ship, at least the wine and mixed drinks (I don't drink beer), to be just about the same as I pay at any restaurant here in Orlando. I haven't paid $4 for a mixed drink probably since I was in college a million years ago.