Beating the bar tab

[joeinwpb]

There is a thread out there today. Someone is asking for tips on ways to smuggle a thermos to the pool to save on his bar tab. Couldn't help making a reply to it. Here it is:

 

" Bringing in liquor to have an occasional drink in your stateroom is something I can understand. Cheating on your bar tab aboard ship is less than exemplary.

 

Do you also smuggle in your booze when you go to a nightclub, or restaurant? It's the same thing

 

Sounds like a maneuver that others pay for.

 

Cheap "

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Joe I totally agree, I can't imagine thinking of doing such a thing. First off I am not one to bring my own beverage of any kind on board. I have enough to pack on any trip why bring something like booze that I can buy on board. Now I can see if it is a special occasion that you have a bottle of wine for. Yes, maybe I could buy it at home cheaper, but I am on vacation I plan to enjoy myself and if buying that is part of the cost so be it. If you can't afford it maybe they need to find a cheaper vacation or Quit Drinking.

[doone]

I agree, good god, your on vacation, if you can't afford a few drinks, wait to take your vacation til you have enough money to buy drinks and enjoy.

[Krazy Kruizers]

:)

 

Taking your own "booze" to the pool, etc., is it really worth it????

 

We have never smuggled alcohol onto any ship. SO, we get the impression that these people are smuggling a lot of alcohol onto a ship just for their own enjoyment and just to save money.

 

It is no wonder HAL has implemented new alcohol rules. It is people like them that has caused stress for all of us.

 

:D

[sail7seas]

Just takes a few ignorant people to ruin it for all others.

 

 

We have never brought any beverage of any sort aboard any ship but I can understand someone wanting a bottle of cognac or such in their cabin to enjoy a drink before turning in at night.......or for a drink while getting ready for the evening. The jerks who lugged cases of beer aboard with giant coolers so abused the privilege of HAL allowing a "reasonable amount", that now no one can bring anything but wine or champagne.

[BaBaG]

What is HAL's policy regarding bringing alcohol on board for cabin consumption? I agree that it's not worth all the effort (and worry!) of trying to smuggle anything in a thermos to the pool! Let's relax and enjoy our cruises!!!

[sail7seas]

Wine and champagne ONLY.

[BaBaG]

Thanks, Sail7Seas, for HAL's alcohol policy clarification. Sounds good to me!

[staufj22]

What do you guys think about bringing drinks off board? to like ports and on excursions? Taking a thermos of water/soda/juice for excursions.

I supose if some people want, maybe a flask?

[sail7seas]

It is so far from anything we would even think to do that just the question amazes me. Sorry......we simply don't think that way. Doesn't make it right or wrong...but it does blow my mind someone would bother. If we want a drink, we buy one.

 

 

I would bring bottled water off the ship with me in some ports where I did not want to take a chance on what may or may not be available. That is as far as I would go.

[debblue]

i will take a bottle of water with me in a port but that is all i do buy my drinks in the lounges and the bartenders know what i drink so when they see me arrive its ready for me i don;t worry about the price and how much im on vacation that is my theory it works for me

[Tatka]

I am not big on bars...

 

We like to drink in cabin.

 

On RCI we bought 2 bottles of vodka and 2 bottles of Kahlula(sp?) in tax free shop on board and made our own drinks. Price was 1/2 of land price but we paid 1st day special 9.50 per 2 bottles to have it in the cabin(for the rest of the cruise it was 9.50 per bottle) I would've paid 9.50 per bottle fee cause it would be still cheaper or equal to land prices(why smuggle then???)

 

On Celebrity you can't buy a bottle in tax free store and bring it to yor cabin.

 

While I don't like to count money on vacation I'd rather spend it on my excursion than pay $7+ per drink in bar. I honestly don't want to wait til I am rich ;) (might actually never happen)

[staufj22]

I would bring bottled water off the ship with me in some ports where I did not want to take a chance on what may or may not be available. That is as far as I would go.

 

 

Now what is your reasoning on that? I can understand if all you drink is water.. but that dosn't sound to be the case.

[ryansmemom]

I have asked people to explain why they feel the need to bring large quantities of alcoholic beverages on board. The only answer I got was from some people who were very specific about the wine they wanted for a special occasion for a large number of people.

 

Personally, I do not understand why people bring large quantities of any beverage on board, especially if they are smuggling it on board. It also boggles my mind that people are so openly discussing their plans to smuggle things on board. Smuggling is illegal. If you think you are totally anonymous, check out the page that tells you who is on line and what they are looking at. The internet is not private. I'm not trying to alarm people, but smuggling!!!

 

Everyone who says a few people spoil it for the rest of us is right. I personally have never brought anything on board. My meds keep me from drinking alcohol so when I do it's a cheat and very little. The changes don't affect me.

 

HAL has generously let people who choose to do so bring some beverages on board for personal consumption in their cabin. Unfortunately, some greedy people had to spoil it. Now the greedy people are looking for ways to cheat HAL more. As a result, we begin to feel less and less like guests and more like customers. Some people do not behave like guests. I just wish HAL would not make us all suffer for those few.

 

Linda

[sail7seas]

My reasoning is that in places such as Cozumel, I would not eat or drink a thing. I would not touch a glass there (washed in local water); would not touch an ice cube....would not risk needlessly becoming ill and ruining our vacation. (I know, I know...there are a whole string of folks who are all prepared to tell me how safe it is to eat the food, drink the drinks.....:) It's our preference to eat on the ship when we are in Mexico.)

 

So, in Cozumel, I bring a bottle of water ashore with us.

 

In other ports, if we want a drink, we stop at a local establishment, order what we want and pay the bill when we are ready to leave.

[staufj22]

So, in Cozumel, I bring a bottle of water ashore with us.

 

In other ports, if we want a drink, we stop at a local establishment, order what we want and pay the bill when we are ready to leave.

 

Heh, "Don't drink the water" has to start from somewhere..=)

I guess the thing I don't get is why there is a negative view if someone were to bring some soda, juice, or whatever, off board, to enjoy during their port stay.

[sail7seas]

That's okay....I don't get someone bringing juice and liquor ashore with them.

 

 

Different strokes for different folks, I guess.

 

I think most people would agree that in the world today, it is most common to see people walking around with a bottle of water just about everywhere you go. I don't see too many folks lugging thermoses so they can avoid buying a drink.

 

Toting a water bottle is so common it's odd to not see someone with it.

[Orcrone]

It's difficult to make this determination, but I view things based on motivation. For instance, I wouldn't bring a thermos of joice with me to avoid paying for it in a restaurant. But I would bring it with me to be on the safe side if I don't know when, or if, we'll have a chance to stop and get a drink.

 

As far as smuggling on board. It's a vacation if I can grab a deck chair and get a drink from a steward. If I have to make up my drinks ahead of time, keep them in a thermos and take it to the pool while hoping no one notices, it's no longer a vacation.

[staufj22]

Its my opinion that its wrong to "smuggle" things onboard. Being that you have to hide something from the cruise line, you obviously know you're doing something you're not suposed to.

 

It kinda bugs me, tho, to be looked negavitely if I were to bring drinks off of the ship. Why is it okay/normal to have a bottle of water, and not a thermos of water? I guess the bottle shows that you purchased it? Please. We all agree that its a matter of choice, so why are yours superior then mine? Well, its not, so don't act like it.

 

...Stepping off my soap box now... =)

[ryansmemom]

My 94 year old-mother-in-law told me that she never had a vacation in her entire life. Every year, when my husband was a small child, she, my father-in-law and my husband would spend two weeks in Atlantic City, NJ. This was their vacation. My husband and his father spent their days fishing and playing on the beach. My mother-in-law spent her time shopping for food, cooking their meals, cleaning up, and doing other household chores. They stayed in a boarding house. Not only did she do the same work "on vacation" as she did at home, she did it in less comfortable and convienent surroundings. She had to bring all of her pots and pans and linens, etc. with her. She had to share a kitchen and laundry facilities, too. Vacation, I don't think so, and neither did she.

 

When I go on vacation, with the full support and encouragement of my wonderful mother-in-law, I go for the service. My mother-in-law said to me "Doll", I love that she calls me Doll. "Doll, don't be a fool like me. Spend the money. Don't be a slave. Enjoy yourself. I wish I did. Now it's too late."

 

I don't get it. Sure don't drink the local beverages if your health is at risk. That's why they offer those bottle of water at the gangway. Smuggle stuff on board to save a few bucks? Sneak stuff out to the pool to save a few bucks? Go to all the trouble and aggravation that people describe to do this stuff? What containers do you put it in? How do you pack it? How do you get around security? How much can I get away with? What happens if I get caught? Schlep all those cases?

 

Sorry, for me at least, that's not a vacation. It's too much work. Just to save a few bucks? Your already spending a lot of money. You're on a cruise, not a boarding house in Atlantic City. Take the advice of my 94 year old mother-in-law. She's one classy lady.

 

Linda :) :)

[Joedog]

I am sorry but I do not understand how someone sneaking alcohol onboard to drink in their cabin or anywhere else is ruining anything for anyone else.

 

It's not as if HAL is going to change their rule about alcohol if no one smuggles.

 

I dont see how anyone smuggling alcohol has any effect on anyone else.

 

I'm not saying that it is right, I am just saying that other than lost revenues to HAL it is pretty much a victimless crime.

 

If someone thinks he/she has to smuggle alcohol onboard because they can't afford the HAL prices or just like the thrill of smuggling I say, good luck, it is no skin off my nose.

 

Just my opinion.

[staufj22]

Sorry, for me at least, that's not a vacation. It's too much work. Just to save a few bucks? Your already spending a lot of money. You're on a cruise, not a boarding house in Atlantic City. Take the advice of my 94 year old mother-in-law. She's one classy lady.

 

Linda :) :)

 

I guess I would ask her.. if someone offered that same advice to her back then.. would she have changed her ways?

I know I probably wouldn't.. but thats because I'm stubborn!

[superstein61]

Wow, what a bunch of hypocrites on this thread.

 

Its ok to bring booze on board to drink in your cabin but not around the pool????? Sorry, no difference.

 

Its not cheap to bring your own wine and champagne - but it is cheap to bring your own hard liquor? Sorry, no difference

 

Its ok to take water off board but not juice / liquor / etc??? Sorry, no difference

 

Everyone here needs to get off their high horse and not criticize others choices.

 

By the way - if you want to beat that bar tab, here are a few tips. I recall these from a hilarious thread from several years ago. I never saved it, and I am sure my recreation is no where close to how funny the original one was, but the tips still ring true !!!

 

First - forget the thermos, think instead large, 32 oz or larger insulated cup with a lid. Fill that baby up in your room with your favorite libation before heading to the pool and enjoy yourself. You'll save money, and if you need a refill, just take a quick stroll back to your room. Plus, when you may be in the mood for a non-alcholoic ise tea - you don't have to resort to the pitiful 3 oz cups that HAL uses.

 

Second, the serious bargain huneter always remembers to pack their blender. Yep, you heard right - bring your blender along and plug that baby in in your room. Then you are all set to whip up a mixture of your favorite Margaritas, Daquiri's, etc. After all, the ship supplies a wonderful host of accompanyments lat breakfast and lunch like fresh strawberries for strawberry dacquiris, bananas, sugar, ice, ice cream, etc. Use your imagination. And if you don't want the big blender, they sell the small portable ones for about $12 that you insert into your glass to blend things up.

 

Third, the booze goes in your checked luggage - not your carryon.

 

Fourth, tip your cabin steward to ensure he keeps you well stocked with ice, fresh fruit and other mixers.

 

Fith, enjoy and think of all the $$$$ you are saving

[valeriequeenofthesea]

Why does HAL allow their guests to bring as much wine & champagne on board as they choose, but not other alcohol? Is it just that they think wine drinkers are a "classier" crowd? Why shouldn't I be allowed to bring a bottle of vodka or gin?

Just wondering why draw the line there? Why not beer? A half case or something reasonable?

[Travelitis]

Hi there Sail 7! Good to see an SN I can put with a face!

 

As far as why bring drinks:

1. No cruise line sells what we want to drink: Code Red Mtn. Dew, Diet Dr. Pepper, Crystal Light (When we have the kids we're bringing Gatorade mix and some root beer to give them variety.)

2. We can't find our drinks of choice in port.

3. It saves a few bucks that we end up spending elsewhere on the ship.

4. It's more convenient to have some drinks right there in your cabin, so you don't have to go out for them. Unlike many people, we don't like bars. We also log a significant amount of cabin time and don't always like room service, if you get my drift.

 

Would we take them in port? - you better believe it! That naaaassstttyyy Pepsi Max we had in Cozumel sealed the deal!

 

Would we take them out and about the ship? Oh yeah! I'm not going to confine myself to my cabin to finish my bottle of Dr. Pepper. I will pour it in a glass, and you won't know that it's not Coke purchased from the ship. If I don't have DP or CL, I'm not buying *gag* Coke or Sprite and will stick to water or milk, neither which means a penny in the cruise line's pocket. It's more profitable for them if I carry my glass of DP into the dining room than drink their milk. I've done that twice and no one batted an eye, because I had a bar glass. The waitstaff had been really pushing the drinks and looking down their noses at us not drinking alcohol, but when I walked in with a drink they perceived was from the bar, they were much sweeter about us turning down wine.

 

An added benefit to packing some of your favorite beverage (and Carnival does say in the FAQ at their website that you are permitted to take it, so it's not breaking rules, folks) is as you use it, you're making room in your luggage for souvies. I'm not talking huge amounts of soda.

 

One ship provided us with a blender, and we really missed having that last time. We're considering taking one on the Rhapsody. Even with it, if we're in a show and want some frozen drink, we'll order it from the bar. If we're hanging in our cabin, we're not leaving just to get a daquiri.

 

On the Sun some CC folks we met had a blender and carried around insulated cups with their own concoctions. They weren't drunk, and NCL made plenty from them in other areas. They participated in the art auction, shopped, gambled, and sampled the alternative dining. The bottom line is that most drink packers are going to spend the same amount on the ship, and taking drinks just frees money for bigger tips, shopping, spa, etc. AND it wouldn't kill any line to offer a larger drink selection.