Questions about alcohol onboard (merged)

[Cruzn Chuck & Susan]

I just got an email from RCCL saying we are not permitted to take any kind of alcohol on board! :( We have ALWAYS brought a few bottles of champagne with us to injoy in our cabin..now we can't? :confused:

What do you all think of this??

[Puffinater]

This is very old news....search this board for tons of postings on this.

[aqhacruiser]

I just got an email from RCCL saying we are not permitted to take any kind of alcohol on board! :( We have ALWAYS brought a few bottles of champagne with us to injoy in our cabin..now we can't? :confused:

What do you all think of this??

 

It is true that you cannot bring any alcohol on board with you at all anymore. There has been mulitple posts on this subject and I'm sure you will receive numerous replies on the subject and some people are very upset over the new rules which took effect in August. RCCL must be really enforcing the policy change if they are emailing people about it. It is not an issue with me personally as we will just buy a few drinks on board but it is a issue with many people. I'm sorry that you didn't hear about the rule change sooner and I'm not sure of their reasoning but it seems that other cruise lines are also cracking down on bringing alcohol on board.:o

[Cruzn Chuck & Susan]

Geez...it may be very old news, but I have only been on the boards for a week.

[whitsmom]

Use one the companies that delivers baskets to cruise ships and send yourself a basket. It depends on the port as to what is allowed. We are leaving out of Port Canaveral and are using Just Because of You. They told me that we could send a basket with 3 bottles of wine and 1 6-pack of beer (no hard stuff allowed). It is not as cheap as bringing it yourself but it is still cheaper that purchasing it on the ship.

 

If you want the price list for them, just send me an e-mail and I will send it to you by e-mail tomorrow: knightjl57 at yahoo.com

[Puffinater]

Geez...it may be very old news, but I have only been on the boards for a week.

 

Only trying to provide information

[bajathree]

Not only that but the wine/champagne list they offer on-board is AWEFULL.:eek:

[Cruzn Chuck & Susan]

Thank you so much Wittsmom for the info. The cruise lines are ok with getting a basket delivered to the ship? Sounds like a good solution. ;)

[sha88]

I just got an email from RCCL saying we are not permitted to take any kind of alcohol on board! :( We have ALWAYS brought a few bottles of champagne with us to injoy in our cabin..now we can't? :confused:

What do you all think of this??

 

Welcome to the RCCL Cruise Critic Board. You can't bring alcohol on the ship, but people do. If it is confiscated, it is given back to you at the end of cruise unless you are under 21.

 

Have a great cruise!

 

Sorry if this a double post, but didn't see my first reply.

[whitsmom]

Thank you so much Wittsmom for the info. The cruise lines are ok with getting a basket delivered to the ship? Sounds like a good solution. ;)

 

They charge $5 delivery charge that goes to the cruise line. She will explain everything when you call. She prefers phone calls instead of e-mails because she is afraid that she will miss someone as she gets tons of e-mail.

[aqhacruiser]

Welcome to the RCCL Cruise Critic Board. You can't bring alcohol on the ship, but people do. If it is confiscated, it is given back to you at the end of cruise unless you are under 21.

 

Have a great cruise!

 

Sorry if this a double post, but didn't see my first reply.

 

HI guys, I just got my docs tonight for my Oct. cruise. On page 11 it says " guests are not allowed to bring alcoholic beverages onboard for consumption or any other use. Alcoholic beverages that are purchased in ports of call or from onboard shops will be stored by the ship and delivered to guest staterooms on the last day of the sailing. Security may inspect containers( water bottles, soda bottles, mouthwash, luggage etc. ) and will dispose of containers containers holding alcohol. " The last sentence was in bold print. It tells you that they can enforce it and then it says in regular print " guests under the age of 21 will not have alcohol returned to them." First it tells you they will dispose of it then it says if you are under 21 it will not be returned to you so it sounds almost like over 21 they will return it to you in that sentence. Confusing and it gives them some leeway on when and how they will deal with alcohol if found in your luggage! But it is clear at least that no one can bring booze on board. I do not see anything about a gift company being able to deliver it but it seems like some people have no problem using the companies and other people have been told no. I think it depends where the ship is. :)

[bajathree]

HI guys, I just got my docs tonight for my Oct. cruise. On page 11 it says " guests are not allowed to bring alcoholic beverages onboard for consumption or any other use. Alcoholic beverages that are purchased in ports of call or from onboard shops will be stored by the ship and delivered to guest staterooms on the last day of the sailing. Security may inspect containers( water bottles, soda bottles, mouthwash, luggage etc. ) and will dispose of containers containers holding alcohol. " The last sentence was in bold print. It tells you that they can enforce it and then it says in regular print " guests under the age of 21 will not have alcohol returned to them." First it tells you they will dispose of it then it says if you are under 21 it will not be returned to you so it sounds almost like over 21 they will return it to you in that sentence. Confusing and it gives them some leeway on when and how they will deal with alcohol if found in your luggage! But it is clear at least that no one can bring booze on board. I do not see anything about a gift company being able to deliver it but it seems like some people have no problem using the companies and other people have been told no. I think it depends where the ship is. :)

 

One of the only cruise lines with this policy. I am booked on Freedom for March in an OS but am seriously thinking of booking elswhere due to the "no wine" policy. RCCL wine list is just not acceptable to me. If they had a good list of wine available I would gladly pay the premium for not being able to bring my own. However not being able to bring good wine or having the ability to order good wine from RCCL has me looking elsewhere. NCl has an excellent wine list and also allows you for $15 per/bottle to bring all you want of your own.

[Nancyquilts]

But wine is a food!

[lovemylab]

Alcoholic beverages are not permitted to be brought on board. Wine and champagne are alcoholic beverages so I would expect those to not be allowed as well.

 

I think one of the big reasons for this change is the problems that have occurred by people bringing their own liquor onboard (i.e. George Smith). If you are forced to buy all liquor from the cruiseline they can have some control over how much/what people are drinking.

[Crusin Karen]

Has anyone who has been on RCI since the new rules went into effect had their liquor confiscated? And, if I put it in a soda bottle, are they allowed to OPEN AND SNIFF? :confused:

[wraithe]

HI guys, I just got my docs tonight for my Oct. cruise. On page 11 it says " guests are not allowed to bring alcoholic beverages onboard for consumption or any other use. Alcoholic beverages that are purchased in ports of call or from onboard shops will be stored by the ship and delivered to guest staterooms on the last day of the sailing. Security may inspect containers( water bottles, soda bottles, mouthwash, luggage etc. ) and will dispose of containers holding alcohol. " The last sentence was in bold print. It tells you that they can enforce it and then it says in regular print " guests under the age of 21 will not have alcohol returned to them." First it tells you they will dispose of it then it says if you are under 21 it will not be returned to you so it sounds almost like over 21 they will return it to you in that sentence. Confusing and it gives them some leeway on when and how they will deal with alcohol if found in your luggage! But it is clear at least that no one can bring booze on board. I do not see anything about a gift company being able to deliver it but it seems like some people have no problem using the companies and other people have been told no. I think it depends where the ship is. :)

 

Bsically, the way that I read it, if you bring a bottle of alcoholic beverage with you, it will be returned to you on the last day, if you attempt to smuggle booze in a mouth wash or water bottle, it will be disposed of. If you're under 21, they throw it away regardless of what it container it's in.

[gerif]

We normally pack an extra small suitcase with bottled water, diet Pepsi and a couple of bottles of wine. After reading a recent review of Explorer where the poster said that wine was taken from checked luggage, we opted to just pack our water and Pepsi. When we got to our stateroom (which DH had decorated for my birthday), he pulled a bottle of wine from his carry-on as a surprise. They let it go through with no problem, so we ordered cheese & crackers from room service and had a toast! I say, go for it.

[bev07]

We just returned from a Grandeur cruise and our packed liquor arrived without a problem. However, the couple we were traveling with had to go down and remove the liquor from their suitcases and then bring their luggage up to their suite. The liquor was returned to them the last day of the cruise. We each bought the wine package for dinner, but the quality of wines offered is pretty poor.

[luv2cruz_74]

We just got off the Mariner on Sunday. We met dozens of people (through cruise critic, of course!) and all of them brought on liquor, wine, beer, champagne, etc. in their checked bags, and noone had anything confiscated.

 

We personally brought aboard, a bottle of wine, three bottles of champagne and a bottle of tequila with no troubles....

[monakayk]

We meet folks that brought their own booze and packed it in their check in luggage....none was taken by RCCL.

If you want to use a delivery service....check out:

Because of You-Bon Voyage Gifts:

PO Box 770473, Coral Springs, Fl 33077-0473

1991 NW 55th Avenue, Margate, Fl 33063

954-582-0811 voice / 954-582-0523 fax

800-882-9707 voice/ 800-424-9706 fax

justbecausecorp@aol.com

http://justbecause.addictscay.com/

They have a contract with RCCL and are allowed to deliver gift packages.

If you only want wine/champagne or liquor in the gift packages....they can make it up that way. There is a $5.00 charge that is paid to RCCL included in the price of each gift package. They are only allowed to include in each gift package 3-4 bottles. However, you can order multiple packages to be delivered to your cabin.



There is NO automatic $15.00 corkage fee if you DO NOT bring any of the bottles of wine to the main dinning room. However, some pax have brought bottles of wine to the dinning room and were not charged this fee. It depends on the head waiter I guess. Also, make sure to bring your own wine-bottle opener in your check in luggage.



We tried to use their service during our cruise on 9-10-06, but due to uncontrollable circumstances, they were unable to fill any orders during that sailing.



:) Happy Cruising!:)

[jbond]

I think one of the big reasons for this change is the problems that have occurred by people bringing their own liquor onboard (i.e. George Smith). If you are forced to buy all liquor from the cruiseline they can have some control over how much/what people are drinking.

They really did an excellent job controlling his and his wife's drinking onboard. I feel so much better knowing that this new alcohol policy is for my own safety, rather than to fill the corporate money chest. :mad:

[sanbmet]

Hi Ray.... sent you an email re: the Jewel trip.. but this fits here....

 

We went to the Jameson distillery in Dublin, bought a personalized bottle of their 12 yr old ( nice novelty item!) and some small gift bottles, and didn't have anything taken when we came onboard. They didn't seem concerned about confiscating anything on this trip.

We heard that some folks purchased wine in France and kept it too.

Must depend on the ship and the itinerary.

[missaud]

So what was the difference in how you packed it versus how they packed it? (just curious - you never know).

[Cruzn Chuck & Susan]

This is such a dissappointment...this was always our little ritual...and we never had a problem before. We cruised in April on QM2 and brought our own champagne and last Oct. on Carnival and brought our own. I agree, we would buy onboard too, if the selection was better. :(

I agree with some of the other posters, that I will look at other cruise lines first, the next time we cruise.

I was so excited for this cruise...this has put a damper on it. Not that we are lushes or anything :rolleyes: we just like what we buy better than what we can get on the ship. ;)

[jbond]

Hi Ray.... sent you an email re: the Jewel trip.. but this fits here....

 

We went to the Jameson distillery in Dublin, bought a personalized bottle of their 12 yr old ( nice novelty item!) and some small gift bottles, and didn't have anything taken when we came onboard. They didn't seem concerned about confiscating anything on this trip.

We heard that some folks purchased wine in France and kept it too.

Must depend on the ship and the itinerary.

Hi Sandy,

That's the whole bottom line about RCI. They have rules, but they are so hit and miss. On our Jewel cruise, Mike bought a bottle of Scotch in Greenock. Nobody said Boo to him when he boarded.

If RCI really had any integrity, they would enforce their rules 100%, that includes liquor, over indulgence and dining room dress code. But, they choose to pick and choose to what supports the bottom line. If RCI does monitor these boards and is concerned about what passengers think, I'd really appreciate an e mail from them to jbond at csurfers.net. I'm not going to hold my breath. Got your e mail, I'll be writing to you soon, update you with our latest news. Mike and Joanne emailed me about you latest cruise.