bringing bottled water or soda on board

[map03020]

1. Does  Holland America allow you to bring bottled water, soda or wine onboard?

[scubacruiserx2]

1 minute ago, map03020 said:

1. Does  Holland America allow you to bring bottled water, soda or wine onboard?

 

Yes , we carried 48 bottles of water and it was tagged with our luggage and sent to our cabin .

[catl331]

You may carry on as much non-alcoholic beverage as you like.  You may also carry on as much wine as you like, but only one bottle per adult is allowed corkage free.  The rest is subject to $18 /bottle corkage. The corkage-free bottles are for in-cabin consumption only, while those you've paid corkage on may be taken anywhere on the ship.

Edited December 20, 2019 by catl331

[map03020]

Thank you! I think we'll bring on a case of water and two bottles of wine, since it won't cost us anything.  I'm glad HAL offers this, NCL does not.

 

[HALrunner]

1 hour ago, scubacruiserx2 said:

 

Yes , we carried 48 bottles of water and it was tagged with our luggage and sent to our cabin .

I would like to bring a few cases of water onboard for an upcoming longer cruise. Did you just tape an additional luggage tag on each case and give it to the porter? Where did you store it in your cabin?

[scubacruiserx2]

2 minutes ago, HALrunner said:

I would like to bring a few cases of water onboard for an upcoming longer cruise. Did you just tape an additional luggage tag on each case and give it to the porter? Where did you store it in your cabin?

 

The porter gave us a tag which we attached to the wheeled bag which carried the water . We slid one under the chair at the desk and sat one on the desk . They would also fit under the bed .

[Shmoo here]

22 minutes ago, HALrunner said:

I would like to bring a few cases of water onboard for an upcoming longer cruise. Did you just tape an additional luggage tag on each case and give it to the porter? Where did you store it in your cabin?

I believe HAL is one of the lines that asks you to carry on your beverages, not use the porters.

[catl331]

17 minutes ago, Shmoo here said:

I believe HAL is one of the lines that asks you to carry on your beverages, not use the porters.

Correct. But the porters don't care, they just want a tip, so they stick a bag tag on it. It's the hard working stewards that have the hard part of schlepping it to the cabins. 

[HALrunner]

8 minutes ago, catl331 said:

Correct. But the porters don't care, they just want a tip, so they stick a bag tag on it. It's the hard working stewards that have the hard part of schlepping it to the cabins. 

Good point, definitely worth an extra tip to the cabin steward who delivers it. (Without trying to hijack this thread, does anyone know if your actual cabin steward delivers your bags to your cabin? It always looks like an "All hands on deck" situation on turnaround day.)

 

p.s. Thanks also to scubacruiserx2 and Shmoohere for chiming in with advice.

[scubacruiserx2]

We also bought some Acqua Panna I Liter bottles on board . They sold for $ 5.50 for one or $24 for 6 . At the big smile store they sell for $ 18 for 12 .

[LP Dad]

The responses to this topic have all been correct, but I would add that bottled water can be brought on board at any port, not just the port of embarkation. I enjoy trying the brands of different countries (not everyone's idea of adventure) and consistently brought some aboard at various ports. They went through the scanner and nobody even commented.I assume soft drinks are the same but can't confirm.

 

LPD

[Shmoo here]

3 minutes ago, LP Dad said:

I assume soft drinks are the same but can't confirm.

We've taken 2 liter sodas we purchased in port back onboard with no problem.

[kazu]

34 minutes ago, LP Dad said:

The responses to this topic have all been correct, but I would add that bottled water can be brought on board at any port, not just the port of embarkation. I enjoy trying the brands of different countries (not everyone's idea of adventure) and consistently brought some aboard at various ports. They went through the scanner and nobody even commented.I assume soft drinks are the same but can't confirm.

 

LPD

 

Correct, you can carry on in any port - soda, water and wine (if you want to pay the corkage fee on the wine 😉 ).  

 

trust me, in certain ports in Europe, you are happy to do so.

 

But no need to load up on embarkation day for your cruise worth of soda or water - you can bring it on any port as LP  Dad said.

[TAD2005]

HAL specifically states that you can bring water and soda onboard, but you must carry it onboard yourself.   They do not want people putting bottles or cans of liquids in with other passenger's luggage.  In many ports, the porters who take your luggage will stack it inside very large steel cages with hundreds of other bags.  Those luggage cages are so heavy they use fork lifts to pick them up and deliver to the cargo hold of the ship.  If your cases of soda or water happens to be near the bottom of hundreds of pounds of luggage, there is a chance that a can or bottle will burst from the pressure and your luggage and all other bags will be wet with water or sticky soda.   Of course the porters will take your cases of soda, all they care about is the tip.  What happens to it after they throw it into the huge luggage cage is not their problem.

Another issue is HAL does x-ray checked luggage for prohibited items.   When they see a case of cans of some kind of liquid, they don't know if it is soda or beer.   So they have to pull that bag aside and call you to open it in their presence.  That slows down the whole luggage delivery process.  That is another reason they want you to carry it on.

[scubacruiserx2]

We chose to bring spring water that we like and our systems are comfortable with . We do not care for the desalinated water from the ship or the ABC islands nor the water from the Dominican Republic . And we surely don't care to pay the over inflated prices for the water if we don't have to . We sure were happy that we brought our wine at a price that we like and we also found out on this trip that they no longer carry our favorite wine .

[catl331]

2 hours ago, scubacruiserx2 said:

We chose to bring spring water ... etc

That's fine ... but you're supposed to carry it on yourself, NOT turn it over to baggage check.

Edited December 21, 2019 by catl331

[scubacruiserx2]

1 hour ago, catl331 said:

That's fine ... but you're supposed to carry it on yourself, NOT turn it over to baggage check.

 

Really , are you serious ? 🙄

[kazu]

16 minutes ago, scubacruiserx2 said:

 

Really , are you serious ? 🙄

 

Yes, Carol (cat331) is very serious.

 

All your beverages whether they be wine, water or soda are supposed to be carried on.

[Shmoo here]

15 minutes ago, scubacruiserx2 said:

 

Really , are you serious ? 🙄

Yes.  Direct from the Know Before You Go, while it specifies wine/champagne, it pertains to all beverages:

 

may bring one bottle of wine or champagne (no larger than 750ml) onboard in carry-on luggage at the beginning of the voyage. This bottle will not be subject to a corkage fee if consumed in the stateroom. Additional wine or champagne bottles (no larger than 750ml) in carry-on luggage are welcome, but will incur a US$18.00 (subject to change) corkage fee each, irrespective of where they are intended to be consumed. Guests are not allowed to bring beer, boxed wine, or other liquors and spirits onboard. Holland America Line reserves the right to remove all alcoholic beverages from any guest luggage that violates this policy. Any alcoholic beverage found will be removed and returned on the last evening of the voyage. Guests will not receive any monetary compensation for alcoholic beverages that were removed from luggage.

[thyme2go]

We drink a non alcohol beer and plan on bringing it on board.   It should be okay, but has anyone had to prove this choice is valid to bring on board?   The design of the cans looks like beer, but it is not and is labeled such.

[TAD2005]

23 minutes ago, thyme2go said:

We drink a non alcohol beer and plan on bringing it on board.   It should be okay, but has anyone had to prove this choice is valid to bring on board?   The design of the cans looks like beer, but it is not and is labeled such.

As long as you carry it onboard yourself, and declare it, it may or may not be inspected to see if it is really "near-beer" or the genuine article.   Once they see the cans, they will know it is non-alcoholic and you will be good to go.

[thyme2go]

Thanks TAD2005!!

[scubacruiserx2]

On 12/21/2019 at 4:18 PM, Shmoo here said:

Yes.  Direct from the Know Before You Go, while it specifies wine/champagne, it pertains to all beverages:

 

may bring one bottle of wine or champagne (no larger than 750ml) onboard in carry-on luggage at the beginning of the voyage. This bottle will not be subject to a corkage fee if consumed in the stateroom. Additional wine or champagne bottles (no larger than 750ml) in carry-on luggage are welcome, but will incur a US$18.00 (subject to change) corkage fee each, irrespective of where they are intended to be consumed. Guests are not allowed to bring beer, boxed wine, or other liquors and spirits onboard. Holland America Line reserves the right to remove all alcoholic beverages from any guest luggage that violates this policy. Any alcoholic beverage found will be removed and returned on the last evening of the voyage. Guests will not receive any monetary compensation for alcoholic beverages that were removed from luggage.

 

This only deals with wine , champagne beer and other liquors . It does not say anything about water or how it is brought on board . 

[kazu]

2 minutes ago, scubacruiserx2 said:

 

This only deals with wine , champagne beer and other liquors . It does not say anything about water or how it is brought on board . 

 

As Shmoo said it pertains to all beverages.

 

The question was raised on HAL’s FB page and the answer was quite clear - carry on.  

 

That quote has been posted here a few times in the past.

 

It is carry on to alleviate stress on the stewards and to prevent damage to clothing and luggage.

 

At one time, HAL let us bring all the wine we wanted on board without corkage.  That privilege was eliminated a few years ago.  When I was at a focus group with the HD on the Prinsendam, the question was asked why and he specifically stated that one of the reasons for the demise of the privilege was all the one that was checked in with the porters for the stewards to manage and the work it caused when the passengers didn’t carry it on.  I am stating this as fair warning.  I’d rather carry on my water and wine than see the privilege lost of being able to bring it on board. 

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

Until we see something in writing from HAL (evidence ) it's just people's opinions . We have never brought water on board before because we have bought water packages . Only on this cruise were water packages unavailable before boarding . They are now available again .