Alcohol on Cruise ships

[Memo]

So, I'm going to be taking a short 5 day cruise vacation at the beginning of march and have a few questions about alcohol. I've heard that you can't bring alcohol on board so my question is this...

1) How hard is it to sneak on alcohol?


2) Is it worth sneaking it on? I heard you can buy bottles of alcohol at the duty free ship shop but have also been told you won't receieve the bottle till the last morning of your cruise. Is this true?

BTW, if it makes any difference, I will be on a Carnival ship (Ecstacy).

[Cheesypuff]

they don't serve alcohol on ships??!?!? I didn't know that!!! hmmm...they need to change that.


I have a hip flask you can borrow

[esme]

Use this!! (http://forums.gotapex.com/showpost.php?p=950689&postcount=1)

[DarkFury]

I thought that the cruise ships serve their own food and drink as part of your ticket... and that alcohol was served on a "cash basis" on the ship. :shrug:

[smeakim]

If you buy a bottle on board at the duty free shop you don't get it until the cruise is over. You can bring on as much wine as you want without issue. If your bring other stuff and sneak it on and they catch you they will just hold it till the end of the cruise. We have bought stuff in port and brought it right through the xray machine and no one said anything. We also put a couple of bottles of hard liquor in our luggage in a plastic zip loc bag and nothing was said or done about it. Some people say they take it. We have never had an issue. We have cruised in the US and Europe.

[Memo]

they don't serve alcohol on ships??!?!? I didn't know that!!! hmmm...they need to change that.


I have a hip flask you can borrow

They do but at high prices :) The whole point in not allowing alcohol being brought on board is to force you to buy their stuff. Thanks for the info smeakim, I may try to just bring a bottle on board that way

[Grimm]

Just tip well. Then anything you do will be given the benifit of a doubt.

[nickel]

They do but at high prices :) The whole point in not allowing alcohol being brought on board is to force you to buy their stuff. Thanks for the info smeakim, I may try to just bring a bottle on board that way
going to Cosumel by any chance? i have been onboard the Ecstacy myself.
you can quickly run a big tab buying drinks which they only take a credit card for. they don't even tell you what the drinks cost a lot of times- just charge it to that plastic. you will find though that they run a lot of free drink specials for a minimal amount of time at certain clubs/shows/casinos to get you in there. take advantage of those.

if the same guy is singing/playing at the piano bar as when i went 6 years ago or so, and i don't know what the chances are that he is, you are going to love him.

ok, i did sneak some alcohol onboard quite easily in my suitcase. i'd still try it if i were to be going on a cruise next week.
http://www.thedrinkshop.com/images/products/main/1772/1772.jpg mmmm, strawberries :lick:


Bring Liquor Onboard?
http://www.carnival.com/CMS/FAQs/Liquor_and_Beverage_Consumption_Policy.aspx

more info
http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=168445&highlight=elation



What are the prices for onboard drinks?
Subject: Food and Beverage

Alcoholic beverage prices:
Aperitifs: $5.50
Standard alcohol: $5.50 and up
Premium alcohol: $5.75 and up
Cocktails: $4.95 and up
Wine glass: $5.95 and up
Champagne glass: $6.95 and up
Domestic beer: $4.50
Imported beer: $4.50 and up

[Memo]

Yes, I'll be going to Cozumel 3/2-3/6.

Did you just place a bottle in your suitcase nickel without any concealment of sorts?

[Sirrich3]

Alcohol was included in my cruise to Cozumel in 2003. Did things change?

[AlpineJay]

Alcohol was included in my cruise to Cozumel in 2003. Did things change?

what cruise was this? in recent history, unless an extra charge was paid, no cruise lines had such a policy.

as for the alcohol on the ship, you'll be fine sneaking it in. the only company known for actively screening customer baggage (checked ones) for alcohol is NCL. if you wanted to be doubly safe, you can transfer the alcohol into a more discrete container - like a nalgene or a water bottle. in fact, one time i've actually carried the nalgene as a carry-on in my backpack just fine.

i was in Cozumel this past month, and it's still in a pretty bad shape. some things have opened up again (like Carlos and Charlie's) but overall the process of getting into the port via tender takes the day away a little bit.

if you haven't already, go and read up on www.cruisecritic.com. their boards are helpful, and their archive of information about ships and ports are very useful.

[Sirrich3]

It was part of the rate. It did include alcohol and which was probably why it was a little more than regular price. They do give you the option for it, which I did.

[cheapie]

light-colored alcohol goes in water bottles and dark alcohol goes in diet coke bottles. ;)

[nickel]

Yes, I'll be going to Cozumel 3/2-3/6.

Did you just place a bottle in your suitcase nickel without any concealment of sorts?
YGPM

[johnnymk]

How about putting it in a large Listerine bottle?

I just realized something..Why is alcohol in glass containers? Does alcohol attack the plastic or form into some kind of icky nasty chemical?

[DarkFury]

How about putting it in a large Listerine bottle?

I just realized something..Why is alcohol in glass containers? Does alcohol attack the plastic or form into some kind of icky nasty chemical?

I've seen "cheap vodka" in plastic containers.... so more or less, maybe it's a "taste factor". :shrug:

[Merlin]

How about putting it in a large Listerine bottle?

I just realized something..Why is alcohol in glass containers? Does alcohol attack the plastic or form into some kind of icky nasty chemical?
For the simple reason that when someone spends $25 bucks on a bottle want glass. Plastic is just fine but plastic "feels" cheap. It is all marketing. Kind of the same reason people don't want a wine bottle with a cap. They want a cork bucause it is classier although a cap is actually better.

[smeakim]

Its no really that big of a deal to bring it on. Just put the bottle in your luggage and more likely than not it will be fine. Check out the boards on curisecritic.com and you will see this topic discussed in length. If you want to take the James Bond route and put it in a scope bottle or a water bottle then go for it. We have cruised, relatives cruise, and friends and none of us had any issues with just bringing it on board.

[Grimm]

I just realized something..Why is alcohol in glass containers? Does alcohol attack the plastic or form into some kind of icky nasty chemical?
Because glass does not transfer any taste to alcohol. Plastic does, especialy if it has to sit a while in the bottle.
THe plastics that are of high enough quality to not transfer a signifficnat amount of flavor to the alcohol are more expensive than glass.