How big a deal is it to grab a free drink for a friend who doesn't have the drinks package?

[pookel]

My husband and I have the "Free at Sea" unlimited open bar package. We're traveling with friends who aren't heavy drinkers and didn't spring for the package. I know it's technically not allowed to share drinks but is anyone going to notice if I grab a second drink for a friend when I go to the bar? I guess I'm wondering how serious an offense it is and if anyone really cares. (I'm NOT talking about grabbing a bunch of extra liquor for people who didn't pay for it, but just like an occasional soda or maybe beer/wine.)

[theboatahoy]

Just don’t be obvious about it and you’ll be fine. 
 

Cruise lines will survive haha!

[cruiseny4life]

Staff won't care. Your conscience might which will make you feel guilty/paranoid about being caught. If it's a once a day'ish thing, you should be ok though.

[SeaShark]

Well...aside from being forbidden by the T&C of the drink package, it is stealing. I think, though, that you already know this. NCL can cancel your drink package for a violation. They could also put you off at the next port. Just depends on who catches you and what kind of mood they are in that day. You also have to keep in mind that "the folks on Cruise Critic said it wouldn't be a problem" isn't really valid once you're onboard.

 

That aside, from your parenthetical, I gather that "grabbing a bunch of extra liquor for people who didn't pay for it" is "BAD", while "an occasional soda or maybe beer/wine" is "GOOD". Out of curiosity, where exactly do we draw the line between the two? 3 drinks, 4, 5, 6? At what point does "GOOD" turn to "BAD"?

[SeaShark]

Also...a little advice as you are new to Cruise Critic. The cruise lines can, and do, read things that are posted here. You only have a handful of posts so far, but the fact that Jeff and Alice from Bismark will be sailing on the Gem on Jan 16th isn't hard to figure out from the posts you have made. It wouldn't be difficult for the cruise line to figure out exactly who you are so that they can flag/monitor you for possible drink sharing. IOW, if you want to bend the rules, you may not want to broadcast your intent in public.

[FLAHAM]

Theft is theft.

[Karaboudjan]

It's a big deal to me because we all know that the lost revenue is going to get passed along to everyone in the way of higher fares.

 

If it's an occasional soda or beer/wine what's so bad about them just paying for it?

[Two Wheels Only]

33 minutes ago, pookel said:

I guess I'm wondering how serious an offense it is and if anyone really cares.

 

11 minutes ago, SeaShark said:

NCL can cancel your drink package for a violation. They could also put you off at the next port.

 

In addition to that, NCL could charge you for every drink that the violator had previously ordered with their PBP/PPBP. In other words, even if the first 10 drinks were legit and the 11th drink was "given" to someone without the package, the legit owner could be charged for all 11 drinks. 

 

Do some people share? Yes. 

Do most get away with it? Yes.

Do some get caught and have their PBP/PPBP revoked? Yes.

Can someone get kicked off of the ship for the violation? Yes. 

Can someone end up owing NCL a week's worth of drinks? Yes. 

 

If someone asks what the speed limit is on Interstate 4, I'll tell them what the posted limit is. 

 

Do many people drive above the speed limit? Yes. 

Do most people get away with it? Yes. 

Do some get caught? Yes. 

Can someone get arrested for it? Yes. 

Can someone end up with fines and court costs for it? Yes. 

 

If it really is just an occasional soda or glass of wine, just pay for it. If you're honest with the bartender and the bartender "forgets" to charge you, that's fine. NCL might have a word with the bartender but you will have done nothing wrong. 

 

[BirdTravels]

1 hour ago, pookel said:

My husband and I have the "Free at Sea" unlimited open bar package. We're traveling with friends who aren't heavy drinkers and didn't spring for the package. I know it's technically not allowed to share drinks but is anyone going to notice if I grab a second drink for a friend when I go to the bar? I guess I'm wondering how serious an offense it is and if anyone really cares. (I'm NOT talking about grabbing a bunch of extra liquor for people who didn't pay for it, but just like an occasional soda or maybe beer/wine.)

Aside of risking the cancellation of your package with no refund, it is up to you if you choose to steal from the cruise line. And, once you do it once, it will be continually expected by your "friend" throughout the cruise, else you are a poor sport. 

[RocketMan275]

1 hour ago, pookel said:

My husband and I have the "Free at Sea" unlimited open bar package. We're traveling with friends who aren't heavy drinkers and didn't spring for the package. I know it's technically not allowed to share drinks but is anyone going to notice if I grab a second drink for a friend when I go to the bar? I guess I'm wondering how serious an offense it is and if anyone really cares. (I'm NOT talking about grabbing a bunch of extra liquor for people who didn't pay for it, but just like an occasional soda or maybe beer/wine.)

It would seem that if it's just "an occasional soda or maybe beer/wine.", then your friends can pay for it themselves.

[juju2454]

41 minutes ago, Two Wheels Only said:

 

 

In addition to that, NCL could charge you for every drink that the violator had previously ordered with their PBP/PPBP. In other words, even if the first 10 drinks were legit and the 11th drink was "given" to someone without the package, the legit owner could be charged for all 11 drinks. 

 

Do some people share? Yes. 

Do most get away with it? Yes.

Do some get caught and have their PBP/PPBP revoked? Yes.

Can someone get kicked off of the ship for the violation? Yes. 

Can someone end up owing NCL a week's worth of drinks? Yes. 

 

If someone asks what the speed limit is on Interstate 4, I'll tell them what the posted limit is. 

 

Do many people drive above the speed limit? Yes. 

Do most people get away with it? Yes. 

Do some get caught? Yes. 

Can someone get arrested for it? Yes. 

Can someone end up with fines and court costs for it? Yes. 

 

If it really is just an occasional soda or glass of wine, just pay for it. If you're honest with the bartender and the bartender "forgets" to charge you, that's fine. NCL might have a word with the bartender but you will have done nothing wrong. 

 

The question begs to be asked, do you follow the speed limit? 😉 

[GeezerCouple]

1 hour ago, pookel said:

My husband and I have the "Free at Sea" unlimited open bar package. We're traveling with friends who aren't heavy drinkers and didn't spring for the package. I know it's technically not allowed to share drinks but is anyone going to notice if I grab a second drink for a friend when I go to the bar? I guess I'm wondering how serious an offense it is and if anyone really cares. (I'm NOT talking about grabbing a bunch of extra liquor for people who didn't pay for it, but just like an occasional soda or maybe beer/wine.)

 

Is this serious?

 

If you were in a store, and purchased, say, 2 sixpacks of beer (or *any* quantity!), would you feel entitled to "grab" an extra beer "for your friend"?

 

Are you seriously asking how serious an offense it would be (!?) or "if anyone would care"?  And yeah, just do it for "an occasional soda or maybe beer/wine" at that store - or any other...!?

GC

[davencl]

Does anyone care?  Yes I care. 

[SeaShark]

I would also suspect, given the current financial situation that the cruise lines are in as a result of the shutdown, that they will be a little more strict and a little less flexible about this type of thing than they might have been pre-pandemic.

[phillygwm]

I'll put morality aside because you know that answer and probably don't care.  As a practical matter, is NCL likely to devote resources to monitoring OP's drink consumption, even if they could be readily identified by this post?  Highly unlikely.  That said, is it really worth sneaking drinks to your freeloading friends who don't have the package?  

 

I'd dare say you're likely to get away with it if it's literally one drink a day and you're not obvious about it.  But if you're sitting at a bar and order two glasses of wine and all of a sudden your friend who didn't place an order is drinking a glass next to you, someone will catch on and, very likely, call you on it.

Edited November 29, 2022 by phillygwm

[MarkusToe]

How about the following case: FAS+ package. Bottle of wine at dinner....if you will not finish....it's trash.....why not finish with tablemates?

[complawyer]

i have often ordered 2 drinks at a time, with no problems whatsoever. ididnt feel like it was stealing, my wife and our travel companion were lounging in t he sun, so i went and got the drinks. after i got them their 2, i immediately went back and got mine. i notice that some of these posters consider it stealing, and taking away from their package, but even with the bottom line drink package, you can get as much alcohol as you can consume, so an extra drink here and there probably doesnt matter to the cruise line, and certainly doesnt warrant being removed from the cruise, or losing your drink package. by the way, all 3 of us had the drink package anyway, so really, no harm no foul

[RocketMan275]

17 minutes ago, MarkusToe said:

How about the following case: FAS+ package. Bottle of wine at dinner....if you will not finish....it's trash.....why not finish with tablemates?

As it's been stated before, that is allowed.  However, even wiht the FAS+ free drinks for you friends are not allowed.  

Edited November 29, 2022 by RocketMan275

[phillygwm]

22 minutes ago, MarkusToe said:

How about the following case: FAS+ package. Bottle of wine at dinner....if you will not finish....it's trash.....why not finish with tablemates?

That's actually encouraged.  I have FAS+ (in a cabin by myself, travelling with friends.)  The waiter always brings out glasses for the table.  Going one step further, one night in Teppanyaki, I had a bottle of Moet.  I offered it to others at my table (i.e. not part of my party.)  Nobody batted an eye.

[Turtles06]

2 hours ago, pookel said:

I know it's technically not allowed to share drinks …

It isn’t “technically” not allowed, it isn’t allowed. Period. And it’s because cruise lines can’t depend on people to be honest that they require both adults on a reservation to have the drink package even if one of them is a light or non-drinker and doesn’t want it but the other does. 

 

Pretty sad that one of your first three posts on CC was to ask if you can get away with cheating. 
 

If your friends can’t afford their own drinks, then buy them for them. 
 

 

[macewank]

42 minutes ago, MarkusToe said:

How about the following case: FAS+ package. Bottle of wine at dinner....if you will not finish....it's trash.....why not finish with tablemates?

 

The cruise line isn't going to care what you do with the free bottle of wine FAS+ allows you to have.  It's 1 bottle of wine regardless of how many people drink it.

Regarding the drinks, I certainly wouldn't care, but I imagine the cruise staff would if they caught you doing it blatantly.  Regardless of whatever theoretical limit you're talking about here, allowing that sort of behavior results in the cruise line giving you twice as many drinks as they otherwise would have.  They're in this to make money, not lose it. 

Edited November 29, 2022 by macewank
added+changed a word

[destar]

You are taking a chance of having your drink package cancelled. The way that cameras operate I wouldn't be surprise if they followed you every time you get more than one drink. If your friends refuse to get the drink package when booking, because they don't drink that much, let them purchase their own drinks.

Edited November 29, 2022 by destar

[SeaShark]

56 minutes ago, complawyer said:

i have often ordered 2 drinks at a time, with no problems whatsoever. ididnt feel like it was stealing, my wife and our travel companion were lounging in t he sun, so i went and got the drinks. after i got them their 2, i immediately went back and got mine. i notice that some of these posters consider it stealing, and taking away from their package, but even with the bottom line drink package, you can get as much alcohol as you can consume, so an extra drink here and there probably doesnt matter to the cruise line, and certainly doesnt warrant being removed from the cruise, or losing your drink package. by the way, all 3 of us had the drink package anyway, so really, no harm no foul

 

Are you comparing picking up drinks for people who have the drink package with getting drinks for someone who does NOT have the drink package?

[destar]

It's considered nothing until you get caught!

[SeaShark]

1 hour ago, MarkusToe said:

How about the following case: FAS+ package. Bottle of wine at dinner....if you will not finish....it's trash.....why not finish with tablemates?

 

Why would the unfinished wine be trash? You can always have them store it for you for another meal, or you can take it with you to your room...not need to trash it.

 

And if you have the drink package, and you are truly worried about trash, why not just order by the glass? You don't need to try to save $$ ordering by the bottle.