RCL Wine and Liquor Policies and Prices (Merged)

[happy cruzer]

Hi, Since Maria's name is on one letter oking the wine from earlier and now her name is on the letter to you. I'm ready to admit this is a

"change" to the previous sorta of OK policy to a really bad policy.

 

And before everyone starts saying it's about security. The airlines will allow you to fly with alcohol in your checked baggage. And I don't think it is about overdrinking onboard because the cruiseline will sell you bottles of wine to have in your cabin. It's about revenue.

 

Very diappointing, your wine sounds wonderful. And I am very disappointed to be limited to their wine list when I will be doing wine tours in Europe and wanting to drink my purchases on board.

 

I believe I read somewhere that Carnival's CEO is a wine aficiando. Maybe that will keep them wine friendly.

[TheEngineer]

Hi, Since Maria's name is on one letter oking the wine from earlier and now her name is on the letter to you. I'm ready to admit this is a

"change" to the previous sorta of OK policy to a really bad policy.

 

And before everyone starts saying it's about security. The airlines will allow you to fly with alcohol in your checked baggage. And I don't think it is about overdrinking onboard because the cruiseline will sell you bottles of wine to have in your cabin. It's about revenue.

 

Very diappointing, your wine sounds wonderful. And I am very disappointed to be limited to their wine list when I will be doing wine tours in Europe and wanting to drink my purchases on board.

 

I believe I read somewhere that Carnival's CEO is a wine aficiando. Maybe that will keep them wine friendly.

 

After reading through that cruisejunkie site about various problems people have had on every cruiseline, the vast majority of security and people overboard problems I saw came not from alcohol, but from suicide attempts by people who lost their shirts in the casino. This to me is the last nail in the coffin of the argument that the alcohol policy is purely safety and security related. If that was really their concern, they would be focusing on the casino.

[Need2Cruze]

I had posted this on another thread which is now closed. RCCL gave me the following email: ccarrier@rccl.com - contact him and ask your questions regarding alcohol. He is very fast in responding to emails. I emailed him about bringing a couple bottles of our favorite wine (not offered by them) and some grape juice for my kids, and he wrote back giving both the ok. Told me to print out the emails and bring with me just in case of a problem at embarkation. Told me no problem to drink the wine on our balcony after kids are sleeping, or to bring to dining room for a corkage fee.

Hope this helps!

[Bobblsc]

I had posted this on another thread which is now closed. RCCL gave me the following email: ccarrier@rccl.com - contact him and ask your questions regarding alcohol. He is very fast in responding to emails. I emailed him about bringing a couple bottles of our favorite wine (not offered by them) and some grape juice for my kids, and he wrote back giving both the ok. Told me to print out the emails and bring with me just in case of a problem at embarkation. Told me no problem to drink the wine on our balcony after kids are sleeping, or to bring to dining room for a corkage fee.

Hope this helps!

 

I hope to receive a positive answer. However, if I do, it will be proof that there is no uniformity of understanding of RCCL policies by their personnel.

 

I'll get back here after I receive a response.

 

Bob :cool:

[Fiesty_Lass]

My Favorite wines come from a vinyard next door to my home. After reading all this I will be bubble wrapping two delicious bottles of Port and a yummy Merlot. Bring it aboard and drink them in our room (no fee if in your room right? ) Also someoe told me the best way to bring a bottle of liquor is to use a empty 1 litre water bottle and fill it with the liquor (clear) anyone ever get caught bringing wine/liquor on..?

[damomom]

Thanks Liz. I have just sent an e-mail. We own a retail liquor store and have asked to bring wine on. I will post the answer.

[Seagal123]

Hi everybody,

 

Just got our docs for our 9/10/06 cruise to Alaska on the Serenade. Says NO alcoholic beverages of any kind can be brought on board and if any are brought on board that there will be a member of the staff at the gangway to "assist" with storage. Anybody else correspond with cccarrier@rccl.com and get an exception to bring on wine? Or are we stuck with the "wine and dine package" that our docs say will soon be available to purchase on line before sailing?

 

Thinking about just a few years ago, when you could purchase wine and liquor from the ship's store the first or second day of the cruise and have it delivered to your room to be enjoyed the rest of the cruise. How times have changed!

[seamama1]

Hi everybody,

 

Just got our docs for our 9/10/06 cruise to Alaska on the Serenade. Says NO alcoholic beverages of any kind can be brought on board and if any are brought on board that there will be a member of the staff at the gangway to "assist" with storage. Anybody else correspond with cccarrier@rccl.com and get an exception to bring on wine? Or are we stuck with the "wine and dine package" that our docs say will soon be available to purchase on line before sailing?

 

Thinking about just a few years ago, when you could purchase wine and liquor from the ship's store the first or second day of the cruise and have it delivered to your room to be enjoyed the rest of the cruise. How times have changed!

 

Times have changed.....and, we can thank the "smugglers" for this new policy. Those who bring a case of beer - 3 or 4 bottles of vodka, whiskey, whatever, cleverly concealed in a bottle of mouthwash..then spend the week overindulging without restraint and get their a--es in big trouble on board. I'm sure RCCL has had a belly full of it and they are tired of drunks throwing themselves off the ship, 18-20 years olds puking all over the place and irresponsible adults who flaunt the rules.....

 

I, too, used to enjoy having a bottle of wine in my cabin - I still can, I just order it from the wine list. There is not a precious wine in the world that cannot be replaced by a decent, drinkable wine on board a cruise ship. It's not all Strawberry Ripple! - and it's not as if one was going to have to drink the "rot" the rest of their lives......

[happy cruzer]

Hi, FYI the ccarrier contact is out of office until Tuesday. so we will all know shortly after that. Sooo if you haven't tried that yet you might wait and see what luck we have. We may not want to flood him with requests more than we have.

 

I sure wish someone in the RCI management team liked wine more than money. We might get a good wine policy. I don't know of any respected dining establishment that has Woodbridge as their one of their featured wines.:confused: Let's see what happens when ccarrier gets back.

[skandls]

Do I have to call my TA or RCCL directly? Who do we call about bringing 'special' wine? Is it 2 bottles per person or per cabin? Do I have to decide what wine I will be bringing on board? With the check all liquids required on the airplane I might want to bring less special bottles - I don't want really good stuff bottle shocked.

 

I don't like the overpriced mediocre selections on board. But I don't mind paying corkage. Are you listening RCCL? Please make some easy to follow rules for those of us who wish to raid our wine cellars and have a nice wine while we are on vacation.

[Langley Cruisers]

There are no wine rules, or any other alcohol rules. Royal Caribbean does not permit any alcohol of any kind to be brought on board their ships. This is clearly indicated on their website and all RCI documentation.

 

Now, having said that, a glace at these message boards will give you numerous threads on how to "smuggle" alcohol aboard. It's up to the passenger, but RCI does have an official policy - no alcohol of any kind, even if you do agree to pay a corkage fee.

 

I'm sure many will follow me and tell you to go ahead and do it - just letting you know RCI's policy.

[beachchick]

I'm not sure if the wine rule has changed. It used to be that you could bring wine (within reason) onboard and pay a corkage fee. Then it was (supposedly) 2 bottles "not on RCI's list," but we brought 6 bottles for four adults in two cabins with no problem. We do not and will not "smuggle" our wine. It is in an airline-approved checked box that we also check at the pier. It is clearly labeled and always arrives with no problem. However, I have heard that recently the rule changed to no wine at all.

 

The problem is that RCI's policies are inconsistent. What it says on the website isn't necessarily what it says in the brochures or on the cruise docs. And you certainly can't rely on what the CS reps tell you.

 

I think the real question would be to find out if RCI still has a corkage fee listed anywhere. (Langly Cruisers: Are you positive that RCI has dropped the corkage fee? They've charged corkage fees on pax-provided wine for years.) If they still have a corkage fee, then the wine rule must still be in effect because if pax aren't allowed to bring any wine onboard, period, there would be no need for the corkage fee as all wine would have to be purchased on the ship.

 

We'll see what the real life experiences are these days.

 

beachchick

[dougp26364]

,,,,,,,,

I think the real question would be to find out if RCI still has a corkage fee listed anywhere. (Langly Cruisers: Are you positive that RCI has dropped the corkage fee? They've charged corkage fees on pax-provided wine for years.) If they still have a corkage fee, then the wine rule must still be in effect because if pax aren't allowed to bring any wine onboard, period, there would be no need for the corkage fee as all wine would have to be purchased on the ship.

 

We'll see what the real life experiences are these days.

 

beachchick

 

The problem with this is you're assuming that RCI has been consistant with changing all aspects of their web site to reflect the new wording in the alcohol policy which does clearly state no alcohol without listing wine as an exception.

 

RCI=Really Consistantly Inconsistant. You won't get the same answer from them twice. One portion of the web site will say no alcohol of any kind but I would almost bet somewhere you'll find something about corkage fee's for your own wine.

 

With the new TSA regulations, about the only way someone can bring a good wine onboard would be if they purchased in the port city before the cruise or if they didn't have to fly across country to get to the departure port. I'm reasonably certain this will diminish the amount of good wines brought onboard for now.

[39august]

The TSA website says beverages may be carried in CHECKED luggage. No reason not to bring wine if you want to try to bring onboard.

[AkSusan]

This is what is posted on their Guest Vacation Policy as of July 2006. So looks like they've beefed up on the carry on but still not sure about the checked though it does state or luggage check points and nowhere have I been able to find anything about a corkage fee on their site - Used their search and nothing comes up - Susan :)

 

Guests shall not be allowed to bring alcoholic beverages onboard for consumption or any other use. Alcoholic beverages that are purchased in ports-of-call or from the Shops On Board shall be stored by the ship and delivered to guest staterooms on the last day of the sailing. For back-to-back guests, alcohol purchases collected during the guest's first or second cruise vacation will be delivered to the guest's stateroom within 24 hours prior of final departure from the ship. Security may inspect containers (water bottles, soda bottles, mouthwash, luggage, etc.) and will dispose of containers holding alcohol.

 

Guests who violate any alcohol policies, (over consume, provide alcohol to guests under age 21, demonstrate irresponsible behavior, or attempt to conceal alcoholic items at security and or luggage check points or any other time), may be requested to leave the ship or not allowed to board, at their own expense, in accordance with our Guest Vacation Polices.

 

Royal Caribbean reserves the right to revoke or otherwise restrict drinking privileges of any guest, regardless of age. Additional policies for groups located in the Appendices of the Travel Agent Guide shall be enforced without exception.

[loisgriffin]

I sure wish someone in the RCI management team liked wine more than money. We might get a good wine policy. I don't know of any respected dining establishment that has Woodbridge as their one of their featured wines.:confused: Let's see what happens when ccarrier gets back.

 

The least they could do is higher a good sommelier to create their wine list for us... I am sure there are a couple of good bottles on board, but I would rather not be limited to one or two good bottles for an entire cruise! Totally with ya on the Woodbridge... :eek:

[Sharman2004]

Forgive me for all my questions but it has been a long time since I have cruised. So how does this work then? I see that it looks like most people who bring wine on board pack it in their checked baggage. I also see that it looks like we are "allowed" 2 bottles per person. So, will we also be able to take these 2 bottles per person to our cabin or will they be "checked in" and given to the dining room staff until we are ready to enjoy it?

[suzyluvs2cruise]

RCI's new policy prohibits carrying on any liquor or wine. It used to be that you could "legally" carryon 2 bottles of wine. Now if you try to carry anything on it will be cheerfully taken from you and returned to you on the last night of your cruise.

 

The times they are a changin' :(

[premiumrican]

After this new policy of having no liquids onboard aircrafts. How is this going to affect the ships duty free sales? I personally always fly to a port and always carried my purchases in those nice cardboard boxes.

 

I can only imagine what it is doing to the ports suchs as St. Maarten and St. Thomas where I usually load up. This trip means no liquor since my luggage there is no room to spare.

[Steamboatin]

Just pay the $25 to $50 over weight charge and put it in your checked luggage. Gee is it not fun to save money on cheaper booze.:D

[Alexis]

You can ask the store to pack it for shipping on a plane. But, it must not have more alcohol content in it than your carrier allows. You can find out what that amount is by going to their website.

We had a tremendous amount being shipped for the people on board our plane when we were flying back from Jamaica.

 

For an example:

This is from American airlines.

 

Item Type Item Examples Allowed For Travel? Notes

Alcoholic Beverages (under 24 percent by volume) Most beer and wine products in retail packaging Yes Opened containers are only allowed if they are re-closed and packed properly.

 

Customs regulations by country may limit the amount of alcohol you may be transport. Please check ahead of time to ensure that you are in compliance with these limits.

Alcoholic Beverages (24-70 percent by volume) Alcoholic beverages in retail packaging See Notes Limited to 5 liters per passenger.

 

Opened containers are only allowed if they are re-closed and packed properly.

 

Customs regulations by country may limit the amount of alcohol you may be transport. Please check ahead of time to ensure that you are in compliance with these limits.

Alcoholic Beverages (over 70 percent by volume) Alcoholic beverages over 140 proof No

[Sky_Chief]

Can we still bring liquid on board - in our checked bags? Not sure where to fine the new policy....

[Sky_Chief]

Can we still bring liquid on board (water, juice, etc.....) - in our checked bags? Not sure where to find the new policy....

[seamama1]

After this new policy of having no liquids onboard aircrafts. How is this going to affect the ships duty free sales? I personally always fly to a port and always carried my purchases in those nice cardboard boxes.

 

I can only imagine what it is doing to the ports suchs as St. Maarten and St. Thomas where I usually load up. This trip means no liquor since my luggage there is no room to spare.

 

Most liquor stores (reputable, of course) will ship it home for you. You have to pay the shipping charges but the savings would probably be worth the expense.

[pucrew]

Is there a liquor store on board the ship? I heard there is, but this is our 1st cruise (NOS 8/19) and we are rookies.

 

Just curious!!! :confused: