Bringing wine onboard

[LLSullie]

Can't find the "rules" online. Anyone know what the rules are or have the link on the RCI page?

 

Thanks!

[Merion_Mom]

The "rules" are that you CAN'T. The reality is something different, as far as the overwhelming majority of US are concerned.

[Hobiecat01]

After 9/11 security on RCCL and other lines is much tighter. They will not let you bring your own wine or liquor on board. Our friends two weeks ago tried to bring thier favorite vodka on board in a 1 litre water bottle. RCCL confiscated it and would not return it. While RCCL was not nasty, they were very firm. What used to be a game of trying to bring booze on board is not a game anymore. They take it very seriously and we should all understand that. Sure wine and liquor on board is more expensive, but all of our safety is much more important.

 

Now on a lighter note, leave your own booze at home and enjoy letting someone else make and serve your drinks to you. Remember YOU are on vacation!! It will cost you more but remember, you get what you pay for. Just sit back and enjoy!

[Merion_Mom]

This has NOTHING to do with 9/11 (hello???) or security.

[critterchick]

99 times out of 100 you'll be allowed to bring any kind of alcohol you want on board. There really doesn't seem to be an official policy - your cruise contract will say you cannot bring ANY alcoholic beverages onboard, but if you email RCI, you will get a reply that you may bring 2 bottles of wine that isn't on their wine list. The reality is that the rule is only selectively enforced, and the only way to know is to try. If they confiscate your alcohol, they return it on the last night of the cruise, and you can bring it home.

[SakeDad]

I packed one bottle and brought it on (checked) with no problems....wish I'd brought two! Then when we came onboard after an excursion, my purchases were X-rayed and then a person at a table 4 feet away asked if I had alcohol....I said no and went right past him....this was in Ensenada which may be alot more lax than other ports, but I never had a problem and throughly enjoyed pouring my own wine for a pre-dinner/pre-bedtime drink on my balcony without having to call room service or schlep it from a bar 3 decks away!

My advice is take a bottle or two that is NOT expensive so that if they do take it you won't care, but good enough that if it makes it through you'll be able to enjoy it!!! HAPPY SAILING!

[Nliedel]

Galvaston is the tightest security wise and the most likely to catch you if you try it.

[moviegirl11]

I bought a bottle of wine in st. thomas. I boarded the ship and they scanned the bag. The security guard mentioned that i had a bottle and sent me over to the "bottle people" standing about 10 feet away. He said I had to check the bottle with them so I went to them and they took my sea pass card. The guy said "Is it rum?" and I said "nope, its wine", he took the seapass from the girl and handed back to me and said to the girl he was working with "we dont take the wine, just liquor" or something like that and handed me the bottle.

 

This was 2 weeks ago on the adventure of the seas. I have no idea if this "rule" applies to putting it in your luggage but I suspect it does. Just remember to bring a wine bottle opener!

[J&SLowery]

LLsullie,

 

The rules are on the RCCL Webpage. I would suggest going to the RCCL FAQ's link and doing a search for wine or beer.

 

I just copied the following from a post I put up yesterday on the same topic:

 

As long as your not bringing a case, and do it discretely, it is highly unlikely that anyone will give you a hassle.

 

We always pack 2 bottles of wine our luggage--somtimes the carry-on. We put the bottles into our Totes picnic wine carrier and then put it inside one of our suitcases. We have sent the wine through the scanner at the pier before and not had any questions. When we get on board, the first time we meet our Room Steward, we kindly ask for 2 wine glasses. If the steward is unable to get the glasses, they will often suggest a call to Room Service who will gladly bring them. We then tip whoever has provided them.

 

Yes, they do allow you to bring into the dining room, and they do have a corkage fee in the dining room. We have never had the need to deal with this, as we buy our wine at dinner. That said, I think the corakge fee is probably applied at the discretion of your server who knows that there week end gratuity may be better if the corkage fee is not applied The wine we bring on board is for our consumption in the room while getting dressed. It has never deterred us from purchasing more on the ship.

 

Not once have we ever had a problem.

 

Jay

[J&SLowery]

LLSullie--- to answer your original question definitively:

 

I found the written policy in my cruise documents from 2 weeks ago.

 

What about Alcoholic Beverages?

 

"Guests are not allowed to bring alcoholic beverages of any kind onboard for consumption of other use. Alcoholic beverages that are purchased duty-free from the Shops On Board or at ports of call will be stored by us and delivered to yourt stateroom on the last day of your voyage. A member of our staff will be at the gangway to assist with the storage of your purchases."

 

All that said, I defer back to my earlier posting, in that we have had our wine scanned, as recent as 2 weeks ago and never had a problem.

 

Jay

[tichinose]

if you are bringing a wine they don't serve you can bring it onboard in carryon luggage////the rest would have to be packed in luggage....

[1luv2cruz]

We brought 2 bottles of wine in our suitcases and liquor in disguised bottles. No problem. Then we bought 2 bottles of kahlua in cozumel and carried them with the rest of our stuff when we got back on the ship. No problem then either. I did see bags of alcohol that had been confiscated right next to where we brought ours in. I can't figure out when they take and when they don't. Maybe they take it if it is the only thing you are carrying? who knows!!!

[J&SLowery]

Fireguy-- you are right on the money. We think alot alike-- there's probably an inherent reason for that--FD affiliation.

 

It seems to me people read way too far into what they're doing.

 

Given the rationale that you would have to pack wine that is "included" on the wine list in your checked luggage is quite funny. I can just see the port security agents that scan carry-ons having me open my bags, pull out the wine, and then try to find it on the RCCL wine list;) That would be enjoyable. I bet the other 1500-2000 people behind me trying to board would love having to wait on that.

 

Truth is, they often times would find that wine on the list, in my case. But, I'm willing to take a chance at 2-3 bottles of wine that cost me $6.99ea being confiscated vs. having to buy one of the same bottles for about $32 + gratuity.

 

 

 

Jay

[cruzinnh]

On the Disney Magic this winter my husband carried on a case of his favorite brew, he liked having a couple in the room. I would be afraid of putting them in checked baggage knowing how things get tossed around. Has anyone brought any beer onboard?

 

Kathy

[BayMan123]

It's easy; we just got off the Navigator yesterday. By reading these boards I found out about "Just for You"! Call them and ask for Shelley, I picked out 6 bottles for us, she had them delivered to our cabin on the Navigator, and all I had to do was open and pour a drink! We also brought a bottle of wine down to dinner on two separate occasions. Never got charged for a corkage fee either. Had our cabin steward keep the wine on ice all day.

The only extra fee was $5. from RCL. Shelley calls this the extortion feel from RCL.

 

This way you don't have to worry about bottles breaking or even getting confiscated by security. To be honest I was a bit skeptical, but everything worked out fine.

[kmks1]

1. I have asked a captain on RCCl what the real deal was and he said they of course want to increase the amount of liqour they pour and that is part of it. Wine doesnt have as much profit margin so sometimes they let that slide. As long as you dont bring in a case you might get by with it. We have done it several times with no problem.

 

2. Merion - It does in part have to do with 9/11..there are numerous explosive substances that can be mixed together to cause substantial damage. Not to mention the number of poisons that can also be problematic. When dealing with thousands of people you can never be too careful. Example: I was on a ship in St. Thomas a few years ago when two couples were arrested on the ship for delivering weapons to drug dealers in St. Thomas. Two elderly couples with M16s and other type weapons....you never know.

[johnjen]

This has NOTHING to do with 9/11 (hello???) or security.

 

THANK YOU! I couldn't have said it better myself. Our local Regal Cinema tried pulling off their little stunt after 9/11 of going through handbags and shopping bags as patrons entered the movies. They weren't looking for bombs, they were looking for canned sodas and candy bars from the dollar store across the way!! I admit, I visit the dollar store, but that's because I can buy the same candy there instead of buying it for three times as much.

 

Dont'cha just hate it when companies try offing policy and blame 9/11 and added security just so they can get your stuff? Only thing is, RCL hasn't pulled that. They are a good company and I haven't yet heard of anyone confiscating any goodies.

[Merion_Mom]

1. I have asked a captain on RCCl what the real deal was and he said they of course want to increase the amount of liqour they pour and that is part of it. Wine doesnt have as much profit margin so sometimes they let that slide. As long as you dont bring in a case you might get by with it. We have done it several times with no problem.

 

2. Merion - It does in part have to do with 9/11..there are numerous explosive substances that can be mixed together to cause substantial damage. Not to mention the number of poisons that can also be problematic. When dealing with thousands of people you can never be too careful. Example: I was on a ship in St. Thomas a few years ago when two couples were arrested on the ship for delivering weapons to drug dealers in St. Thomas. Two elderly couples with M16s and other type weapons....you never know.

Nope. It still doesn't wash. If they were truly concerned about liquid explosives, they would ban or microscopically search ANY liquids. They aren't saying, "you can't carry bottles of shampoo or conditioner or lotion or aftershave or perfume" because of security concerns.

 

Nope, doesn't wash. Not security issue.

[MJonTravel]

We typically take a couple of the half bottles of wine onboard to keep in the room for a quick cocktail before dinner. Never had an issue in our 8 cruises on RCI. I think as long as you don't try to take on half a liquor store, they will probably not worry about it.

[pinkrosesdeb]

When I wanted rose champagne for sailaway, I called customer service and was told if they don't carry it onboard you can bring it. We did, in our carryons and no problem. I do know that every time you call customer service you can get a different answer and this was april a yr. ago. I am a breast cancer survivor and we were going with a big group of friends and I really wanted "pink" champagne. They were very nice and sent me a copy of the wine list so I could see if they had anything available onboard. They didn't, so we brought our own in plain sight and told them at check in. Don't know if they would still allow this now since they really seem to be cracking down. I took down the girl's name from customer service just iin case.

[SuzieQ123]

I always buy wine in Port especially St Maartin as they have a good price on Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio. If you have the bottles in your bag no one says a word.....when we were in Grand Cayman in November we found it for $9 a bottle and bought six bottles---all they do is tag it w/your cabin # and Dinner Seating and Table # and it will be sent to the dining room. There they charge a $12 Corkage Fee. Any left over bottles are sent to your cabin the final night.

 

We really bought it to take home as $9 a bottle is really cheap ($22 at home and thats on sale) We had already bought the Wine Package so we really took home most of it

 

Actually the Pino Griogio (Danzante) that is part of the wine package is pretty good

[froggie Q]

We brought 6 bottles of our local champagne all the way from home in our checked baggage. No problem. Paid $10 corkage in Portofinos on our anniversary for one of the bottles. Putting champagne (or "sparkling wine") into a mouthwash bottle just wouldn't have been the same! We still spent plenty for drinks on the ship!

[kmks1]

Nope. It still doesn't wash. If they were truly concerned about liquid explosives, they would ban or microscopically search ANY liquids. They aren't saying, "you can't carry bottles of shampoo or conditioner or lotion or aftershave or perfume" because of security concerns.

 

Nope, doesn't wash. Not security issue.

 

 

I understand what you have said, lets just end it with this. Trust me, I KNOW that is part of it...lets just leave it at that and get back to discussing the main point of this board which is how wonderful cruises are.

[RosieRivetor]

It's easy; we just got off the Navigator yesterday. By reading these boards I found out about "Just for You"! Call them and ask for Shelley, I picked out 6 bottles for us, she had them delivered to our cabin on the Navigator, and all I had to do was open and pour a drink! "

 

 

I'm new to the forum and going on my first cruise this weekend Monarch of the Seas. Can you please tell me what "JUST FOR YOU" is and how to contact Shelley? Thanks

[BayMan123]

I actually found this service on this web site.

Just for You will provide.... whatever! It took me three phone calls to Shelley to finalize my wine order. She is patient and wonderful. She can be reached at 1-800-882-9707.

The wine prices were slightly higher than store prices, I highly recommend them.