Booze...You can't bring it on; you can't pre-order it

[lwnbwlr]

I called Princess today to order a liter of vodka for my upcoming 14 day Sea Princess cruise. The individual I talked to said they had changed their policy on pre-ordering booze; you can't do it anymore. He gave neither rhyme nor reason. When I expressed my displeasure about Princess making my voyage as inconvenient as possible he said he'd note the record.

 

This apparently prefer that you buy it by the drink in the ship's bars. I believe (am not positive), that you can still order it from room service. Princess (read Carnival) makes Midas seem like a spend thrift and I sure hope the "golden goose" doesn't meander past the galley.

 

When I cruise I want convenience. The first day is hassle enough without them placing more roadblocks in our path in order to make an extra buck.

Have they gone too far?

 

I'd appreciate your thoughts.

[Cruise Junky]

I read recently where you can't even order it from Room Service anymore.

[chrysalis]

I read recently where you can't even order it from Room Service anymore.

 

sure you can..we just got off the Sea and I watched room service delivering it to a cabin. And, as an aside, we openly carried bottles of rum purchased on shore in various ports, and not one was taken from us to be stored until we got off the ship.

[Cathy p]

other than having a few drinks in your room, as big as this ship is, I can't imagine going in and out of my room for booze.

[herb]

And, as an aside, we openly carried bottles of rum purchased on shore in various ports, and not one was taken from us to be stored until we got off the ship.

 

Funny how when someone complains that there aren't enough choices for "free" beverages they're considered cheap, yet carrying on bottles of liquor purchased at a port of call, which is against ship policy, is ok! :eek:

[Upandadam]

I too carried bottles right on with no problem. As did my 16 year old daughter. (I had too many to carry) These were for home and gifts, not the cruise. So, after going through the metal detector and scanner I tried to give them to the booze collector and he told me to just go ahead and keep them in my room and gave me a look like I was nuts for wanting him to take them.

[chrysalis]

Funny how when someone complains that there aren't enough choices for "free" beverages they're considered cheap, yet carrying on bottles of liquor purchased at a port of call, which is against ship policy, is ok! :eek:

 

Come on, Herb.....you well know that it is not against ship's policy to purchase liquor in a port of call and openly carry it on board. If the ship's security crew decide not to take it from me, then that is the way it is. And, for your info, the bottles were never opened while on the ship.

 

Get off your soap box

[critterchick]

Funny how when someone complains that there aren't enough choices for "free" beverages they're considered cheap, yet carrying on bottles of liquor purchased at a port of call, which is against ship policy, is ok! :eek:

 

If it was against the ship's policy, they would have confiscated it as the passengers reboarded. If there was nobody to confiscate the alcohol and tag it for delivery on the last night, what were the passengers supposed to do?:confused:

 

To answer the original question, no, I don't think Princess has gone too far. I've read that you can still order full bottles from room service. Even if you pre-ordered in the last year or so, the bottle wouldn't be waiting in your room. You would have to call room service to have it delivered. And it was a couple of bucks cheaper than pre-ordering. So either way, you'd have been on the phone for a minute or two. IMHO, no big deal.

[herb]

And, for your info, the bottles were never opened while on the ship.

 

If that be the case I apologize for my comment.:o

[Cruise Junky]

sure you can..we just got off the Sea and I watched room service delivering it to a cabin. And, as an aside, we openly carried bottles of rum purchased on shore in various ports, and not one was taken from us to be stored until we got off the ship.

 

That's good to know. I was just quoting what I read last week, someone said they phoned and were told no.

[SPI_Rick]

I returned from a Diamond Princess Australia - New Zealand cruise 10 days ago. You can rest easy, liquor was readily available by the bottle from room service ($37 per liter for Jack Daniels). Also, beer, wine and liquor purchased in port were allowed onboard without any questions....just put the bags through the scanner with your cameras, tote-bags, etc.

 

Note: I did not attempt to bring anything aboard at embarkation....only at ports of call.

[madelinerose]

Sure hope I can order Grey Goose from room service on the Crown. ;)

 

That's good to know. I was just quoting what I read last week, someone said they phoned and were told no.

[Charliesmom]

When we were on the Sun we went to a bar and bought a bottle of Jack Daniels to use in our room for $37.00 a liter. We tried to buy Jim Beam, which they had in stock, but they could not sell it to us because it was not on the "bottle list".

 

We bought a bottle on shore in one of the ports and nobody stopped us bringing it onto the ship.

 

Roberta

[Whirlybird]

On several Princess cruises I preordered a liter of vodka to be in my room when I arrived. But the last few years, I found that it was not delivered and I had to call room service when I boarded to have it delivered. So maybe the cruise line decided to do just away with the preordering feature. I have never had a problem ordering a liter from room service, ususally for a reasonable fee, less than the cost where I live in the states.

[Nancyquilts]

Good thing that here we define wine as a "food". Nancy

[MV21]

We pre ordered (and pre paid - as a 'gift' to ourselves) some booze for our Carribean cruise on the website but the transaction was then passed to Princess UK who then billed us in GB pounds (at a very unfavourable exchange rate).

I won't pre order again but buy from Room Service (AND ensure my ship account is paid in dollars)

[JKJoannie]

We also have purchased alcohol and soft drinks in a port and brought it on the ship with no problems. But I think the "official" rule is that it has to be held until debarkation?? So the bottom like is that you're not suppose to , but everyone does and they overlook it.

[Marmarjudy]

The solution: plastic bottles in your suitcase......

[POOHISME2]

I called Princess today to order a liter of vodka for my upcoming 14 day Sea Princess cruise. The individual I talked to said they had changed their policy on pre-ordering booze; you can't do it anymore. He gave neither rhyme nor reason. When I expressed my displeasure about Princess making my voyage as inconvenient as possible he said he'd note the record.

 

I'd appreciate your thoughts.

I'm leaving on the Golden on 4/29 and I called Princess today to pre-order my vodka and rum. Though they didnt have the liters they had last year, I was able to pre-order 2 sets of the smaller versions delivered to the room on embarkation day. I called 1-800-princess and asked for guest services. There was no problems in placing my order, they took my creditcard number and it was charged immediatly. I received an email confirmation within minutes of the order being placed. Hope this helps.

[Willlie]

You can't pre-order litre bottles ahead of time, but you can still get them

through room service when on board or from the main lobby bar.

 

Cheers

[chasetf]

We also have purchased alcohol and soft drinks in a port and brought it on the ship with no problems. But I think the "official" rule is that it has to be held until debarkation?? So the bottom like is that you're not suppose to , but everyone does and they overlook it.

From the Princess web site.... I hear what most are saying, "they never check or never take it from me, so it is ok" .....when or if they start collecting, nobody is suprised or nobody says I wasn't told.....:mad:

 

Question: What is the alcohol policy onboard Princess Cruises?

Answer: We kindly request that you do not bring alcoholic beverages (other than wine and/or champagne) onboard for consumption. Alcoholic beverages that are purchased duty free from the ship's gift shop or at ports of call will be collected for safekeeping and delivered to your stateroom on the last day of the voyage. A member of our Security Staff will be at the gangway to assist with the storage of your alcoholic beverage purchases.

[sunline2000]

Please people stay focused,answer the ? at hand....If you go to Princess's Cruise personalizer there are under gifts or foods you can pre-order alchol for your room beer 5/6th free ...rum w/cans of coke etc. cannot order till you have made final payment or 90 days before cruise. :)

[ladypalmtree]

Last week on the Sapphire Princess.. we ordered from room service. We got beer and vodka and tonic...the brands were limited..room service delivered it in ten minutes.:D relax people it is a vacation!

[m steve]

It's really cheaper and easy to call room service when you get on board. I bought Stoli ltrs. for $20 us and no surcharge, just tipped the steward. Same price as at home. As for buying in ports, only the Caribbean DFS are cheap. OZ/NZ prices were twice the ships room service prices but the DFS on board was cheap and you could take 3 ltrs.pp off the ship. STT and STM are the cheapest.

[SPI_Rick]

POOHISME2, yes, as you noted, you can still pre-order the "liquor and soda" packages which contain a 0.375 liter (small) bottle of liquor and some setups.....although, at $17 a pop it is a bit pricey....however, the 1-liter bottles are currently not available for pre-order.

 

As others have noted the selection available from room service is limited....not every brand available at the bar is available for purchase by the bottle....but most of us can 'make do' with the brands available. If you have a very specific brand requirement, then you may want to bring a 'survival kit' onboard with your checked baggage or plan an excursion to a liquor store on your first port of call. For those cruising the Caribbean, liquor purchases in port should not be a problem. For some other destinations a little advance planning may be required.....and specific brands may be priced higher than you are used to paying.

............thiink of it as an adventure, not an inconvenience.....