Should RCCL bring back the $9.00 consumption fee??

[BillOh]

I have been wondering if the sales in the onboard liquor store have dropped since the new TSA rulings in carrying liquids. .

 

I sure would think so. I'll ask the next time on board to see if a crew member can give an honest opinion of that.

[ElbertaAL]

The argument I've never bought is people who claim that letting them know "loud and clear" will make any difference to this policy. The same old people gripe about this cruise after cruise. The point is, you come back anyway. Someone who is willing to switch lines (and there aren't any lines that allow you to bring your own liquor on) is likely worth losing anyway.

 

If you can't afford a few cocktails...

 

Do the same people who smuggle booze on ships take their own cocktails in water bottles when they go out for dinner?

 

Nope, but a poor analogy....I often take my own wine when staying in a hotel. Nothing quite like sitting on the balcony with my wife and enjoying a couple of glasses. From what I am reading here, the RCCL policy makes this difficult to do. And please, "If you can't afford" is quite condescending to those of us who can afford it and those that can't. There are many people making arguments for convenience (which I think was the original point of the OP) and tastes.

[ricsue]

Just back from Mariner. Heard many stories of Alcohol being confiscated from carry ons and suitcases. I brought water on board in a rolling cooler, security asked to look inside, they did and gave it back to me. Our friends had Vodka in water bottles, in their checked luggage, none confiscated.

It seems to be a hit and miss enforcement policy on RCI's part.

 

We saw several people bringing bottles of wine to dinner. I asked our waiter how they were bringing bottles to the dining room if you are barred from bringing wine/beer/alcohol on board? He said, maybe their TA gifted it to them. Seems unfair to me that a TA can send a bottle of wine to your room, but if you buy the Wine/Dine package, you can't have a bottle sent to your room, nor can you bring a bottle for a special occassion.

We had many spring breakers on our cruise, many who were apparently under 18 (in the Disco) and their friends buying and passing drinks to them in plain sight of the bartenders, with no one calling security to stop that 'illegal' act. Also saw RCI bar manager checking receipts of a group of kids who had purchased buckets of beer and then put it in a large storage container filled with ice that they were taking poolside. The bar manager confiscated the beer that they paid for. She told them they could not have it in a container larger than the bucket that it was served to them in. A bartender gave them this large container and filled it with ice.

 

According to the RCI policy, anyone caught serving an 'under 21' would risk being thrown off the ship at the next port.

 

I do believe this is all about revenue and nothing about enforcement of a policy due to legal issues.

 

We passed by the on-board shop several times and didn't see much purchasing going on. We talked to Dynasty in St Thomas (where we always buy our booze to take home), they told us business is down big time. We flew Southwest where you can check 3 bags each, they allow the liquor cartons to be checked as a bag, so we had no problem with TSA. TSA allows 5 liters per person to be transported, and unlimited wine.

 

I think RCI will begin to lose some of the teen-young adult spring breakers if they keep their enforcement up. Not sure how many adult cruisers they will lose due to their alcohol policy. I for one wish they would bring back the allowance of bringing wine on board with corkage fee, and the $9 buy a bottle on board. I think the people that were using both of those allowed amenities are not the persons that are drinking in their room and jumping overboard.

[skyking]

He said, maybe their TA gifted it to them. Seems unfair to me that a TA can send a bottle of wine to your room, but if you buy the Wine/Dine package, you can't have a bottle sent to your room, nor can you bring a bottle for a special occassion.

 

According to the RCI policy, anyone caught serving an 'under 21' would risk being thrown off the ship at the next port.

 

 

 

 

Simple answer for you...The TA has to pay an extra $5.00 to the cruise line to do this. AGAIN they make money...This is all about PROFIT folks...And nothing else.

[Capt. Johnny]

The argument I've never bought is people who claim that letting them know "loud and clear" will make any difference to this policy. The same old people gripe about this cruise after cruise. The point is, you come back anyway. Someone who is willing to switch lines (and there aren't any lines that allow you to bring your own liquor on) is likely worth losing anyway.

 

If you can't afford a few cocktails...

 

Do the same people who smuggle booze on ships take their own cocktails in water bottles when they go out for dinner?

 

I brought nine bottles back onto the Disney Magic. Did they just not check them as they scanned them? The box said Isalnds Liqour right on it. Never tried to hide it either. Was that a freak thing or does Disney allow you to take it back to your room? Anyone???:confused:

[Schplinky]

Nope, but a poor analogy....I often take my own wine when staying in a hotel. Nothing quite like sitting on the balcony with my wife and enjoying a couple of glasses. From what I am reading here, the RCCL policy makes this difficult to do. And please, "If you can't afford" is quite condescending to those of us who can afford it and those that can't. There are many people making arguments for convenience (which I think was the original point of the OP) and tastes.

 

It's not meant to be condescending at all. I don't think the argument most make is based on convenience so much as not wanting to pay the cost. Besides, you can order liquor from room service or take a drink back to your room.

[Schplinky]

I brought nine bottles back onto the Disney Magic. Did they just not check them as they scanned them? The box said Isalnds Liqour right on it. Never tried to hide it either. Was that a freak thing or does Disney allow you to take it back to your room? Anyone???:confused:

 

I don't think Disney "allows" it but you seem to have got away with it. I think RCL and Celebrity are just clamping down recently. It seems Carnival is as well, since you are no longer allowed to bring even bottled water or soda.

[jst]

For my DH and I, yes RCCL bring it back..you are making a real brewhaha of a customer service issue. This idea of controlling the drunks is a crock!! the bartenders will pour, as long as the Sea Pass card will hold the charge, and if this came about because lawyers advised it due to the Smith incident, most people know these days, it is cheaper to settle out of court than have a costly legal battle. Your loyal customers would be very apppreciative of a revision to your now ----- policy.

[Cruising89143]

Simple answer for you...The TA has to pay an extra $5.00 to the cruise line to do this. AGAIN they make money...This is all about PROFIT folks...And nothing else.

 

 

And I have no problem with it being about profit as RCI is a business. My only wish was/is to have the option of buying a bar setup and mixers for cabin use like some of the other cruise lines allow. I would love to see all cruise lines stop the tacky roll on coolers and smuggling of alcohol.

[spammie]

I absolutely would LOVE to see them bring back the $9 a bottle fee. We never smuggled before they did away with the convenience of purchasing and taking a bottle back to our cabin. We like to enjoy a cocktail while we are getting ready for dinner or before turning in for the night. I for one do not want to be balancing a drink all the way back to my cabin or drinking a watered down drink from room service. For us it has NOTHING to do with not being able to afford onboard drinks. I resent that comment. We certainly purchase our share of cocktails during dinner, at the lounges, poolside and at the shows. We certainly had the $900 seapass bill whether we smuggled or not. I also never witnessed a bartender cut off an obviously intoxicated passenger. I bartended for years and can certainly tell when someone has had to much to drink. It has to do with the bottom line (making a profit) not passenger safety. Wanda

[Hondu]

I have never cruise NCL for reasons including the policy that they rummage thru luggage and confiscate liquor. With this system now in place at RCL, they will only get my business if it's a rock bottom sale out of Galveston.

[skyking]

Anyone else??

[critterchick]

It would be nice if RCI would at least offer room service delivery of bottles or half bottles of liquor. You can order a decent enough selection of wine & beer, but that's about it.

[Merlin139]

On our last cruise we took 2 ltrs of Vodka onto the ship in plastic water bottles inside one of our cases. At the end of 3 weeks we had only drank half of one of the bottles. As we were in an inside cabin not much point in drinking in there and could not be bothered to going back to the cabin for a refill.

 

On the last week of the cruise we became Diamond C&A Members so had access to the Concierge Club. For 3 1/2 hours a day we had access to FREE drinks between 5.00 and 8.30 pm. We went in there for a drink most days before dinner.

[Happy ks]

When I saw this thread I said "A thousand times YES!

 

We very much enjoyed having a bottle in our cabin and the fact that we didn't have to "smuggle" it was an added advantage. I didn't drink any of it, but my husband enjoys a drink on the balcony while I'm still getting ready.

 

I'm not understanding the wine issue, though. On our last cruise, we were able to pre-order bottles of wine sent to our cabin, I think we ordered 4 plus two bottles of champagne for sailaway. This was done through the wine cellar on the RCI site and it's still there. Once onboard, we then ordered the wine and dine package, for bottles of wine with dinner, they now have this feature up and running on their web site as well.

 

So, no ordering an extra bottle of wine in the dining room to take back to the cabin is necessary. I'm guessing that you can't order the wine and dine from the table (once you are onboard) to be sent to your cabin?

[Hypo]

We have frequently purchased the wine package and we always take any remaining wine in the bottle to the room. Never a problem.

 

Hypo