Buying bottles of spirit on board

[CobblerDave]

We are on the ventura 35 night cruise on 5th February and are taking the allowed one bottle of alcohol each.  

I remember that it used to be the case that you could buy a bottle of whisky from a bottle drink menu in the cabin.  Can you still do this?

 

[daiB]

30 minutes ago, CobblerDave said:

We are on the ventura 35 night cruise on 5th February and are taking the allowed one bottle of alcohol each.  

I remember that it used to be the case that you could buy a bottle of whisky from a bottle drink menu in the cabin.  Can you still do this?

 

 

Indeed you can.

 

These were still valid in October 

Edited January 29, 2019 by daiB

[Eglesbrech]

Dai, useful for reference so thanks for posting. Still not bad price wise.

 

Someone suggested on a thread a few months ago that they had problems getting ice and lemon for the cabin, they were told to go to the bar. You travel P&O regularly, I take it this is not an issue (and was perhaps just a one of)?

 

 

[CobblerDave]

Dai, 

Thanks for your reply. That's good news.  If we get through our bottle which we are likely to do on a longer cruise then we can get another bottle. 

[jones721]

Are those spirits prices for 1 litre - I don't remember it being that cheap? Aren't those supermarket prices?

Tracey

[ozzysdad]

12 minutes ago, jones721 said:

Are those spirits prices for 1 litre - I don't remember it being that cheap? Aren't those supermarket prices?

Tracey

Yes it's room service by the bottle and is only allowed to be consumed in your cabin.

 

Price wise it's probably a couple of pounds dearer than supermarket prices but still very fair I think.

Edited January 29, 2019 by ozzysdad

[jones721]

58 minutes ago, ozzysdad said:

Yes it's room service by the bottle and is only allowed to be consumed in your cabin.

 

Price wise it's probably a couple of pounds dearer than supermarket prices but still very fair I think.

I would say it's extremely fair! They're litre botttles, aren't they - not 75cl?

 

 

[daiB]

4 hours ago, Eglesbrech said:

Dai, useful for reference so thanks for posting. Still not bad price wise.

 

Someone suggested on a thread a few months ago that they had problems getting ice and lemon for the cabin, they were told to go to the bar. You travel P&O regularly, I take it this is not an issue (and was perhaps just a one of)?

 

 

 

Never had a problem at all it’s the first thing we ask for. May not get it on the first night but we accept that. The steward gets it for us unless in a suite when the butler supplies it.

[daiB]

8 minutes ago, jones721 said:

I would say it's extremely fair! They're litre botttles, aren't they - not 75cl?

 

 

 

Correct.

[Eglesbrech]

10 minutes ago, daiB said:

 

Never had a problem at all it’s the first thing we ask for. May not get it on the first night but we accept that. The steward gets it for us unless in a suite when the butler supplies it.

Great, thanks

[Brayman]

The Anderson's gin bottle is only 75cl unfortunately!

[Eglesbrech]

6 minutes ago, Brayman said:

The Anderson's gin bottle is only 75cl unfortunately!

 

That makes it a good excuse to buy 2 of them surely?😀

[Brayman]

21 minutes ago, Eglesbrech said:

 

That makes it a good excuse to buy 2 of them surely?😀

Absolutely! In fact I have just checked my bottle and it is only 70cl, so I shall be buying three next time and only be very slightly over the duty free limit 🙂

 

[ollienbertsmum]

I am a bit confused about bringing on alcohol.  There was a corkage fee of £20 mentioned on my paperwork.  

 

The corkage fee was applied when you drank your alcohol in public areas.  So can you take your one bottle on board and then drink in your own cabin without extra charge?

 

 

I think these questions might be irrelevant by the time I sail next year.  I think the effect of the drink package might result in changes.  Just that for two of us, over one week, I cannot imagine us drinking over £500.  I do like a couple of drinks in the evening and I know it includes soft drinks, but still!!    ;

[pete14]

1 hour ago, ollienbertsmum said:

I am a bit confused about bringing on alcohol.  There was a corkage fee of £20 mentioned on my paperwork.  

 

The corkage fee was applied when you drank your alcohol in public areas.  So can you take your one bottle on board and then drink in your own cabin without extra charge?

 

 

I think these questions might be irrelevant by the time I sail next year.  I think the effect of the drink package might result in changes.  Just that for two of us, over one week, I cannot imagine us drinking over £500.  I do like a couple of drinks in the evening and I know it includes soft drinks, but still!!    ;

The corkage fee applies to bottles of wine taken into the restaurants or other public spaces on the ship. As bottles of wine in restaurants are reasonably priced, it is much cheaper to buy them with the meal unless it is a very special bottle for a special occasion. You can buy bottles of alcohol, from room service to drink in your cabin or on your balcony if you have one. These should not be consumed in public areas of the ship but bars are plentiful and not over-priced. The same applies to any bottle to take onboard at the beginning of your cruise (max 1 litre per person).

Bringing in the drinks package should not affect any of this as it is just an option for those who feel it matches their needs. Some have speculated that it may lead to an increase in the price of buying drinks at the bar but that remains to be seen. 

[Hill4963]

I can confirm those prices are still the same upto 1st feb 2019 has i've got the same lists from ventura.

[ollienbertsmum]

Right I understand how things are at the moment.  I will come back to the issue this time next year.  Given the present (but who knows what will happen after Brexit) prices of alcohol in Gibraltar, it looks like it is worth me bringing a litre of hendricks on board.  I have $180 on board credit.  I cannot imagine that the drinks package will be worth it.  

 

[Clodia]

If you try to bring a bottle on in Gibraltar it may be confiscated. You can bring a litre of anything on at Southampton or wherever you first embark, but it's not allowed at ports of call. It may be taken off you and returned on the last day of the cruise. I say "may" because I've witnessed this happening, and I've also seen people getting on with bottles in their bags and nothing being said. I think they're a bit stricter in Gibraltar though because of the lower prices there.

Of course you could take some in a rum runner, but it's complicated, though some people take one bottle onboard as a bottle and another in a rum runner. I am tempted to do this as I am a vodka and brandy drinker and there's not a lot of variety for us in the onboard men, whereas gin, rum and whisky drinkers are well catered for at reasonable prices.

[Clodia]

That should have read "the onboard menu". I actually prefer the men sober!

[daiB]

1 hour ago, Clodia said:

If you try to bring a bottle on in Gibraltar it may be confiscated. You can bring a litre of anything on at Southampton or wherever you first embark, but it's not allowed at ports of call. It may be taken off you and returned on the last day of the cruise. I say "may" because I've witnessed this happening, and I've also seen people getting on with bottles in their bags and nothing being said. I think they're a bit stricter in Gibraltar though because of the lower prices there.

Of course you could take some in a rum runner, but it's complicated, though some people take one bottle onboard as a bottle and another in a rum runner. I am tempted to do this as I am a vodka and brandy drinker and there's not a lot of variety for us in the onboard men, whereas gin, rum and whisky drinkers are well catered for at reasonable prices.

Clodia don’t know if you had noticed but the poster who mentioned prices in Gibraltar actually lives there. So I think they mean bringing bottles on board at the start of the cruise.

[Clodia]

12 hours ago, daiB said:

Clodia don’t know if you had noticed but the poster who mentioned prices in Gibraltar actually lives there. So I think they mean bringing bottles on board at the start of the cruise.

Ooops, wasn't paying attention! In that case he should absolutely be allowed a litre of his choice on boarding. Whether or not staff will try to prevent it because Gibraltar is so cheap for drink is another matter.

What puzzles me is the lack of consistency since the restrictions were introduced. Some people getting on with bottles at ports, nothing said, while others get their bottle confiscated. I've witnessed this on every cruise I've done since the restrictions were applied.

[ollienbertsmum]

Yes I meant buying my duty free at Gibraltar airport and boarding in Southampton with it.    There would be no way staff would know that it was cheaper than duty free alcohol bought elsewhere.  

 

To be honest a whole bottle of spirit each sounds a lot to get through in a week.  It costs less than the £500 plus it would cost us to get the alcohol package though.  

 

[Zombatar]

6 hours ago, Clodia said:

Ooops, wasn't paying attention! In that case he should absolutely be allowed a litre of his choice on boarding. Whether or not staff will try to prevent it because Gibraltar is so cheap for drink is another matter.

What puzzles me is the lack of consistency since the restrictions were introduced. Some people getting on with bottles at ports, nothing said, while others get their bottle confiscated. I've witnessed this on every cruise I've done since the restrictions were applied.

Just returned from 28 day Ventura cruise and I bought a rather nice bottle of scotch in Barbados. It wasn't cheap but it was one I cannot buy in the UK. Going back onboard the bottle wasn't hidden, just in a carrier bag which went through the x ray machine. Nobody said anything to me about handing it in and there was a table just before the lifts where you could hand it in and I did, not because I am a good honest citizen but because I wanted it to drink at home, so no need for it on the ship. Trying to get it back at the end of the cruise was not easy. First of all nobody could tell me when it should be collected though they were very knowledgeable about spirits bought in the duty free shop. When I finally found out, the day before we docked and went down to collect it, it was a mess and of course they couldn't find my bottle. I could see it from the other side of the room as it was in quite a distinctive box. After pointing out where it was the crew members finally agreed to check it and it was given to me. Trust me, in future I wont bother!

 

Peter