Smuggling grog on board

[Skyring]

My last cruise was with Oceania and they have a pretty liberal policy on bringing alcohol aboard. You could bring a crate of wine or similar with you at embarkation and after a shore excursion I would often bring back a bottle or a six-pack or something. Passengers were free to drink this in their cabins but not anywhere else.

I found this a great way to enjoy the day, sitting on my balcony during sailaway and drinking some of the local booze.

I remember one Sunday arvo in some dusty Canaries port, scouring the town for a place that would sell me some takeaway beer. Everything was closed. I finally found, in a back street, a tin y Muslim convenience store which sold beer and I bought six bottles, stowing them in my backpack. On the shuttle as we approached the ship I lifted my pack and the bottles clinked cheerfully. "Aha!" said a fellow passenger, "we know where the party is tonight!"

I can't find the rules for Celebrity on their website, but I'm getting the feeling that they might not be quite so accommodating.

[canderson]

No, they aren't.

 

Oceana:

"Oceania Cruises reserves the right to prohibit and retain all alcohol bought ashore for consumption onboard the vessel."  Reserves, but evidently doesn't enforce much.

 

Celebrity:

"Guests are not permitted to bring alcoholic beverages onboard; with the exception of embarkation day when guests are permitted to bring onboard with them up to two (2) bottles of wine (which are subject to a corkage fee) per stateroom. Security may inspect containers (including water bottles, soda bottles, mouthwash, canteens, etc.) at any time and will dispose of alcohol concealed in such containers. Alcoholic beverages that are purchased from onboard shops or in ports of call (which must be presented to security upon re-boarding), will be secured by ship's personnel. Alcohol secured by ship's personnel will be returned to guests just prior to the conclusion of their cruise vacation. Guests who are under the permitted drinking age will not have alcohol returned to them."

 

(Scroll down at the link below to see this and other information)

https://www.celebritycruises.com/faqs/before-you-board

 

 

 

Edited November 3, 2021 by canderson

[upwarduk]

We didn’t even bother with the 2 bottles of wine on our recent 🇬🇧Staycation. Why bother struggling to bring it on board when most guests are booked with A I, which includes a Classic alcohol package?

Edited November 3, 2021 by upwarduk

[Skyring]

12 minutes ago, Covepointcruiser said:

I thought Celebrity had alcohol on the ship or can you simply not afford to buy a Celebrity drink?

With the price difference between Oceania and Celebrity I imagine I can get sloshed on on-board drinks every night and come out ahead.

No, it's the pleasure of buying a bottle or two at a cellar, or just some of the local beer, and enjoying the terroir aboard instead of whatever generic global brands are available aboard. Imagine flying into Fort Worth asking for Shiner Bock and being told they only serve Budweiser.

[Skyring]

16 minutes ago, canderson said:

(Scroll down at the link below to see this and other information)

https://www.celebritycruises.com/faqs/before-you-board

Thanks, that's exactly what I needed.

Cheers!

[Virga]

I can't speak for what is normally accepted, but... I just successfully boarded with a bottle of bourbon, three jars of cherries, two different simple syrups, and a few bottles of various bitters.  I was fully expecting to be brought to the naughty room to defend my smuggling and sacrifice the bourbon, but it was all delivered without issues.  We set up our little old fashioned station right on the stateroom counter and our attendant kept our ice stocked.  The cellar masters bartender seemed to enjoy walking us through neat pours of his selection and didn't even seem offended that we only ordered one of his old fashioneds once, perhaps tempered by the fact that we enjoyed many other drinks with him instead.

 

Not sure if we were given a pass because we had the drinks and more package, or if the bottles weren't large enough for them to even inspect, or perhaps they just plain don't care right now.  

 

While I can't make myself enjoy wine, I understand the idea you're espousing. I was grateful Celebrity let us slide.   Fwiw, I read recently that MSC allows Yacht Club passengers to bring alcohol back from each port without issues.  Mayhaps a way to split the difference between Oceania and Celebrity in the future?

[Guppy99]

3 hours ago, upwarduk said:

We didn’t even bother with the 2 bottles of wine on our recent 🇬🇧Staycation. Why bother struggling to bring it on board when most guests are booked with A I, which includes a Classic alcohol package?

Not sure what kind of wine you drink, but the pickings are slim for wine included in the classic package.  And then it's by the glass, not the bottle. If you want to have a bottle in your room, you need to bring it or purchase it. The upcharge on board for a good bottle is very significant.

[Skyring]

Thanks for all the comments. Yes, there was a certain amount of tongue in cheek about smuggling grog aboard a ship already awash with the stuff.

My days of getting more than merry are over. I don't mind a glass or two with dinner, maybe finish the bottle if I don't have to drive home, but after a while one is just paying good money to get sick. The first glass of a fine wine is awesome. The fifth, not so much.

I've been to Iran once or twice. That involves going weeks without alcohol of any kind. It is no hardship at all, particularly if one has good company and pleasant surroundings. Our Persian guide had some tricks up her sleeve for getting alcohol through the border checks, and I myself managed to smuggle in a couple of bottles of (non-alcoholic) Shiraz for the pleasure of sharing it with the rest of the group in the ancient Persian city of Shiraz.

The comments about bourbon above interest me. I don't know that I'd bother bringing aboard two bottles of wine. The cost of corkage - Oceania had it at $US25 a bottle for drinking one's own wine in the restaurant - pretty much negates any savings unless we are talking champagne.

A good Scotch, on the other hand… My next cruise leaves from Japan and I know that the Japanese make some very good whisky. Buying a bottle duty free on arrival and taking a dram as the sun goes down on the Far East is my idea of a nice cap to the day.

[Virga]

7 hours ago, Skyring said:

A good Scotch, on the other hand… My next cruise leaves from Japan and I know that the Japanese make some very good whisky. Buying a bottle duty free on arrival and taking a dram as the sun goes down on the Far East is my idea of a nice cap to the day.

 

For what it's worth, we didn't bring a particularly spectacular bourbon - partly because I was prepared for them to take it from me, and partly because the whole plan was balcony old fashioneds.  I really do believe certain classic cocktails deserve quite a good base, but there are plenty of whiskeys that even the heathen in me wouldn't consider mixing.  As it turned out, the supply issues did not overly limit what was available in Cellar Masters - we'd have been perfectly happy not bringing the bourbon.  The cherries, on the other hand...  

[Bo1953]

15 hours ago, upwarduk said:

We didn’t even bother with the 2 bottles of wine on our recent 🇬🇧Staycation. Why bother struggling to bring it on board when most guests are booked with A I, which includes a Classic alcohol package?

We usually bring aboard two (2) bottles of special 'grog/wine' which are not available on ship, to have in one of the Specialty Restaurants....

 

Your comments are well taken if one does not have special wines they prefer, by the bottle, which may not be available on-board....

 

Cheers and bon voyage

[canderson]

11 minutes ago, Bo1953 said:

We usually bring aboard two (2) bottles of special 'grog/wine' which are not available on ship...

We used to do this, and would take 4 on a B2B.  Problem is, if we were to bring the really good stuff with us, all of the agitation in checked baggage can make the decanting process (which X has always graciously provided when appropriate) a real bugger unless it's a particularly long cruise and we are prepared to wait to open it.

[Bo1953]

1 minute ago, canderson said:

We used to do this, and would take 4 on a B2B.  Problem is, if we were to bring the really good stuff with us, all of the agitation in checked baggage can make the decanting process (which X has always graciously provided when appropriate) a real bugger unless it's a particularly long cruise and we are prepared to wait to open it.

Usually, the wine I have brought aboard in the past requires decanting times of six - eight hours...

 

I would take it to dining venue after breakfast, by appointment of course, open it and they would provide a decanter for me...

 

But I never thought about the agitation during transport, yet they always tasted good at dinner... LOL

 

Cheers and bon voyage

[hawkesbaynz]

I find the All Inclusive nature of cruises on Celebrity pretty stress free. We drink a fair amount of wine and gin on holiday and my wife drinks sparkling water by the galloon. Almost had a heart attack on Royal with their prices and soon bought a package on the one trip we did with them. 

 

I can see the pleasure of drinking a local wine or spirit on the balcony in the evening though. 

 

We have a cruise booked with Oceania and am a little confused what to do. The booze package is mealtimes only and am told the sommeliers are quite mean. Considering the $600 OBC and bringing a couple of bottles of Botanist for the balcony pre-dinner and sussing out the happy hours. Wish they were AI like Celebrity.

[Skyring]

4 hours ago, hawkesbaynz said:

We have a cruise booked with Oceania and am a little confused what to do. The booze package is mealtimes only and am told the sommeliers are quite mean. Considering the $600 OBC and bringing a couple of bottles of Botanist for the balcony pre-dinner and sussing out the happy hours. Wish they were AI like Celebrity.

I didn't find them too bad. Wine by the bottle is a better price - doesn't matter how much they put in a glass, you've still got 750 ml worth overall - and if you don't drink it all at one meal they will keep it for you and it will be available at your next meal, regardless of restaurant.

You'll love Oceania. Their "best cuisine at sea" slogan might be a trademark but they live up to it. The dining is marvellous, the menu changes daily, the presentation is immaculate. The buffet is fully staffed; one cannot serve oneself. I used to love brekkie there. I'd draw my chair up to the smoked salmon station, open my mouth and let them fill me up like a seal.

[NutsAboutGolf]

You can carry on two bottles (many X-rayer don’t care if you have 3-4).  Also, if you’re a couple, you’ll have no problem each carrying on two bottles each if you don’t act like you know each other in the X-ray line…X-Rayers don’t cross check which room you’re in.  I may have tested this, I may have got four bottles on board in my carry on, the X-rayer may have said “is that wine?  Wine is fine, all other alcohol is mine” (lol)

 

IMO, if you buy the alcohol package I believe X should allow you to bring all the booze you want, would save X a lot in alcohol and labor

[DCPIV]

1 hour ago, angelsil said:

I get where OP is going. We love to try the local rum in the Caribbean and always try to bring back a bottle or two. If we could drink it on the ship, we probably would. Just to enjoy some local flavor. 

 

At one time, we could.  That was nice, and it's why I easily sympathized with OP.  I recall a stop in Barbados (years ago, back when there were no issues bringing local booze aboard).  We picked up a fifth of Mount Gay XO (US$10 from the distillery shop) to take home and also a pint of XO (a few bucks) to enjoy a nip on the balcony before dinner or as a night cap.

 

I didn't think much about that until we were in Havana.  While I could have brought back a bottle of Cuban rum to turn over to security and then bring home, I had no option to bring aboard any rum to enjoy while still on the ship.  I'm not sure why I thought about that, but I imagine it was because I was bringing on Cuban cigars that I could enjoy onboard.  It wasn't a big deal, but it did make me a little wistful.  

 

47 minutes ago, mfs2k said:

Lets be clear here.  The only reason liquor is forbidden is because cruise ships want you to buy their liquor because liquor is profitable.  That's not a safety issue.

 

There's no doubt that sales are one reason (and a strong one at that).  However, there also is no doubt that they want to monitor drinking on board and make sure things stay relatively calm and safe.  That's why they'll cut someone off who gets out of hand.  It doesn't do anyone any good to cut someone off for the night or longer if they can just go back to their room and up-end a bottle.

[Skyring]

12 hours ago, Denny01 said:

The earlier post was correct in the OP was just interested in bringing a special beer from a port of call back on to enjoy. I hope the OP doesn’t judge the X passenger ‘demographics’ based on the higher than thou comments here. 

I was interested to know the line's policy so I could comply with it. Hearing the responses of experienced cruisers is also immensely valuable.

As for passenger views on moral behaviour, I spent five years as a night cabbie. I saw a lot of drunks. My job was to get them home safely and comfortably. I don't mind if people have a glass too many, so long as they don't become violent or abusive. Or throw up on my clean seats.

If a passenger drinks the bar dry, that's fine. If they become a danger to themselves or others, or interferes with ship safety, that's a different matter. I imagine that X is able to deal with such events.

[Denny01]

8 hours ago, Skyring said:

I was interested to know the line's policy so I could comply with it. Hearing the responses of experienced cruisers is also immensely valuable.

As for passenger views on moral behaviour, I spent five years as a night cabbie. I saw a lot of drunks. My job was to get them home safely and comfortably. I don't mind if people have a glass too many, so long as they don't become violent or abusive. Or throw up on my clean seats.

If a passenger drinks the bar dry, that's fine. If they become a danger to themselves or others, or interferes with ship safety, that's a different matter. I imagine that X is able to deal with such events.

Perfect. Hope to cruise w you some day!
 

I spent a few weeks in Newcastle area working w the RAAF more than a few years ago. I had two rules: don’t drive at night and don’t drive after even 1 beer! The roundabouts were tough enough cold sober! 
 

den