Alcohol policy on Europe cruises?

[racephoto]

Hi all, I know that many cruise lines relax their alcohol policy and allow folks to carry on and keep wine and beer from ports. Does Princess do this? It is really nice to be able to bring on a local beer or two to try. I was on a Princess TA earlier this year and I never noticed if they did anything different for our European port stops.

[Moondogy]

Every cruise we've been on with princess (Only Caribbean so far) any alcoholic beverages brought back on from ports are taken at security and return the day before the end of the cruise. 

[tanyaewa]

Although the regulations are clear and set out - I believe it varies by port, ship and staffing 

Edited July 8, 2022 by tanyaewa

[racephoto]

5 minutes ago, Moondogy said:

Every cruise we've been on with princess (Only Caribbean so far) any alcoholic beverages brought back on from ports are taken at security and return the day before the end of the cruise. 

Yes. That’s true of of most cruises, but European ones are often different. I’m on the Carnival Pride right now and we can bring on whatever we want from ports. I’ve only brought wine or beer, but others have even brought hard alcohol.  It was the same on Holland America in Europe. 

[Moondogy]

1 minute ago, racephoto said:

Yes. That’s true of of most cruises, but European ones are often different. I’m on the Carnival Pride right now and we can bring on whatever we want from ports. I’ve only brought wine or beer, but others have even brought hard alcohol.  It was the same on Holland America in Europe. 

I've only just retired last year so haven't had the chance to do the TA I want to do yet 🤣 Got to get Alaska out of the way first which is the end of August.

[JimmyVWine]

I have only tried to bring wine bottles on board and have never had them confiscated.  (One at a time per port...never a big purchase.)  And this has been the case even in circumstances where liquor bottles were being tagged and held.  "Rum? Place it over there!"  "Wine?  Enjoy your bottle."  But as noted, this is a very, very uneven policy and you could end up getting your beer on board with you or have it held.  Be prepared for any result. 

[wowzz]

Princess almost always scan your bags when you come on board, even if the bags have been scanned in the terminal. 

My solution?  Buy Princess Plus.

[LACruiser88]

We have not been on a European cruise post start-up, but have many under our belts.  We like bringing local wines back from the ports that we visit. 

 

In the past, the "wine" police have been hit or miss when reboarding.  If they are there, you are still subject to the two bottle "no corkage" rule.

[jasbo49]

16 minutes ago, LACruiser88 said:

 

In the past, the "wine" police have been hit or miss when reboarding.  If they are there, you are still subject to the two bottle "no corkage" rule.

Just to be clear, the two bottle allowance is at embarkation, not at each port. Please someone correct me if I'm wrong. 

 

Jim

[wowzz]

14 minutes ago, LACruiser88 said:

We have not been on a European cruise post start-up, but have many under our belts.  We like bringing local wines back from the ports that we visit. 

 

In the past, the "wine" police have been hit or miss when reboarding.  If they are there, you are still subject to the two bottle "no corkage" rule.

The two bottle rule only applies when you first embark.  Thereafter,  every bottle you bring on board will cost you $20.

We went on a Princess tour to an Italian vineyard.  The wine was great, and less than €10 a bottle, but we did not buy any,  because Princess would charge us $20 to bring it on board.  

The winery lost many sales because of the Princess policy.

[wowzz]

Just now, jasbo49 said:

Just to be clear, the two bottle allowance is at embarkation, not at each port. Please someone correct me if I'm wrong. 

 

Jim

You are totally correct.  One bottle per person.

[Steelers36]

2 minutes ago, wowzz said:

The two bottle rule only applies when you first embark.  Thereafter,  every bottle you bring on board will cost you $20.

We went on a Princess tour to an Italian vineyard.  The wine was great, and less than €10 a bottle, but we did not buy any,  because Princess would charge us $20 to bring it on board.  

The winery lost many sales because of the Princess policy.

MAYBE.  I have been on voyages where folks bring back on wine and no one there to be bothered with it.  Liquor yes - usually.  Nevertheless, an unmarked bottle is subject to the corkage in the DR if not yet opened.

[LACruiser88]

We have been able to claim the 2 bottle rule when bringing wine back from a port.  This situation varies from ship to ship depending on the personnel that are doing the checking.

[wowzz]

I think the issue is lack of consistency. 

In the example I gave,  about a visit to an Italian winery, if I knew I could drink  the wine in our cabin, with no corkage fee, I would happily have bought a few bottles.

But, if I was going to  be  charged $20 a bottle, why would I buy anything ? 

[blizzard44ca]

We were told by a bartender, many cruises ago, that security does not care if you bring a small amount of beer or wine (6-pack/2 bottles) back from a port stop.  We have taken many cruises since then, and have never had anyone say a word, or ask any questions about wine or beer in our bags.  If you declare it, they may have to do something about it, but if you say nothing and it’s in your bag that they scan, I’ve never had an issue. Ship Security is looking for threats to the ship, not worrying about the current alcohol policy.

If this changes, you can always ask them to hold it for you until disembarkation.  YMMV.

[divadee007]

I thought most lines take it and hold it till the end of the cruise. Not charge you for it. I have had that happen on RCL and P&O. I have to tried on Princess as its our first cruise with them this year. 

[wowzz]

20 minutes ago, blizzard44ca said:

If this changes, you can always ask them to hold it for you until disembarkation

And then what do yiu do with it ?

If you are flying home,  packing two or three bottles of wine in your suitcase may well take you over your weight limit.

[Eglesbrech]

21 minutes ago, divadee007 said:

I thought most lines take it and hold it till the end of the cruise. Not charge you for it. I have had that happen on RCL and P&O. I have to tried on Princess as its our first cruise with them this year. 

I have never been charged, you hand it over and get it back on the last day.

 

Sometimes the lines don’t want to take it as they are responsible if it breaks. We bought a rare whisky on an islands tour and I pointed out the coat of replacement - I was asked to take it to my cabin! It was a present so not for drinking onboard anyway.

[KreinKrunker]

We had a 6-pack of beer taken from us when reboarding in Hawaii.  It was a private firm at the pier, not Princess security on the ship.  It was returned on the last day, nice and cold.  Had to drink it as our bags where already packed.

[pris993]

We have done many cruises in Europe.  Policy is the same, enforcement varies.  We usually return to the ship mid-day, sometimes port staff screens, sometimes ship staff screens.  We have brought back wine mostly, sometimes liquor if we were in a port like Gilbralter.  Never had any problem doing so.  We only brought back what we might drink on the ship, because we had plans to carry it home on a flight.  Never have had a bottle taken from us and held. 

[Steelers36]

On 7/8/2022 at 6:59 PM, wowzz said:

I think the issue is lack of consistency. 

In the example I gave,  about a visit to an Italian winery, if I knew I could drink  the wine in our cabin, with no corkage fee, I would happily have bought a few bottles.

But, if I was going to  be  charged $20 a bottle, why would I buy anything ? 

Because the total cost is less than buying a bottle from Princess in the DR?  You don't pay corkage fee unless having it opened in public space.  Some people pack up bottles to take home.  Also, I am not sure if a "few bottles" would attract attention when re-boarding and they would want to record it, etc.  A couple - likely not an issue.

 

[Steelers36]

12 hours ago, wowzz said:

And then what do you do with it ?

If you are flying home,  packing two or three bottles of wine in your suitcase may well take you over your weight limit.

Lots of extra room in luggage if not packing suits and tuxes. 

 

LOL.  Just kidding with you.

[pris993]

28 minutes ago, Steelers36 said:

Because the total cost is less than buying a bottle from Princess in the DR?  You don't pay corkage fee unless having it opened in public space.  Some people pack up bottles to take home.  Also, I am not sure if a "few bottles" would attract attention when re-boarding and they would want to record it, etc.  A couple - likely not an issue.

 

Never paid $20 extra bring back bottles from a port that I drank in my cabin and the quality of wine was far better than what I might buy in the MDR.  

[tanyaewa]

I’ve told this story before…. We embarked at Rome and one of our travelling companions brought 6 bottles of lovely Italian wine.  They stood at the table for 15 min before 2-3 staff waved them along.  My friends tried to insist they pay but staff were too busy with other things. YMMV

[racephoto]

I have the Princess Plus. But they’re not gonna have Norwegian or Icelandic microbrews or some weird Scottish heather mead. It’s nice that on Carnival IN EUROPE I can experience these things without wasting port time bellied up to a bar (not that most of them can be bought in a bar either) because they let us bring them on and enjoy them. HAL did the same in Europe. Apparently Princess doesn’t, or it isn’t that common. 

Edited July 10, 2022 by racephoto