Would $2.99 drinks make YOU stop "smuggling"??

[RalphWill]

I have never smuggled, but have not ruled the thought out for my future cruises. I will definitely use Bon Voyage for a couple bottles of liquor, but I'm a Gin drinker and they don't have my brand. They should expand to offer more brands and that might slow down the smuggling.

[dclark]

I got off the Golden a few weeks ago and yes, the $2.99 drinks were nice. However:

1) Only available after 8:00pm. Don't know when they ended.

2) Only drinks were mai tai, pina colada, long Island

3) The drinks didn't get full shots. The bartendender was fast like the guy running the 3 card monty game, but I could tell we weren't getting a full ounce of booze, maybe a little over 1/2 ounce.

[pjtulsa]

I would LOVE it.. I don't really drink at home and loved the DOD card when it was offered but now with drinks upwards of $8 I just dont drink! At $2.99 I would have a couple a day vs 0 that i have now...

[sjn911]

My alcohol intake will be slightly higher when I can have a drink in my cabin while getting dressed. If I can't, then I don't have an extra before or after dinnier to make up the deficit. If drinks were 2.99, I would be happy because my bill would be less, but I don't think I would drink any more. We have an all-inclusive on Celebrity in January, and I will have my normal one before dinner, wine at dinner, and one after dinner.

 

This is my usual travel MO as well. Nice price dream..but drinks are not that inexpensive here in medium restaurants..why would they be on a ship? right?

 

Celebrity all-inclusive plan sounds nice..have a great time.

[pmc7704]

Doubtful Carnival would follow suit, since Princess doesnt appeal to the same demographic.

 

Im sure the happy hour deals are to get people out and about, many on Princess call it a night right after dinner.

 

 

This is SO not true !!!!

[onespots]

We are like you, like to have a glass of wine while dressing for dinner and if are traveling with other couples they all come to our cabin for a before dinner drink. It is so much nicer not to have to get room service or go to the bar for that drink.

 

I know you can buy bottles of wine on the ship but the prices are way out of line, I can't see paying $30 for a cheap bottle of wine. We like better wine and don't want to be price gouged paying for it.

 

I'd love to see drinks for $2.99, we are not big drinkers but on vacation we seem to embibe a little more so we use the drink coupons.

 

 

I agree in total with your statements. Not only are the drinks and wine prices high on all the cruise lines, but they have the guts to charge an additional 18% for service.This being the case most cocktails are in the $ 9.00-12.00 range. Wine usually starts at $28.00 a bottle and there is no upward limit, therefore an average corkage fee on cheap wine $6-7.00. No rip off there ! ( ha ha ) Besides speciality drinks of the day ( which are usually awful ) only appeal to a small percentage of passengers. The Happy Hour should extend from late afternoon thru an hour after the last show.

 

I have smuggled wine aboard the vessel. I can't imagine what they would charge on the ship, when I just paid $25-35.00 in Rome for a bottle of wine. Even with this said my bar bill on the ship for our last 10 days exceeded $500. It's not like we didn't spend sometime in the lounge and order wine with every dinner.

 

Well that's my 2 cents worth on this subject. However if I was in marketing and concerned about increasing revenue for the cruise line, I might ask the following question. Why are the lounges empty and no one is enjoying a cocktail out on the fantail ?

Best Regards, Onespots

[onespots]

I agree in total with your statements. Not only are the drinks and wine prices high on all the cruise lines, but they have the guts to charge an additional 18% for service.This being the case most cocktails are in the $ 9.00-12.00 range. Wine usually starts at $28.00 a bottle and there is no upward limit, therefore an average corkage fee on cheap wine $6-7.00. No rip off there ! ( ha ha ) Besides speciality drinks of the day ( which are usually awful ) only appeal to a small percentage of passengers. The Happy Hour should extend from late afternoon thru an hour after the last show.

 

I have smuggled wine aboard the vessel. I can't imagine what they would charge on the ship, when I just paid $25-35.00 in Rome for a bottle of wine. Even with this said my bar bill on the ship for our last 10 days exceeded $500. It's not like we didn't spend sometime in the lounge and order wine with every dinner.

 

Well that's my 2 cents worth on this subject. However if I was in marketing and concerned about increasing revenue for the cruise line, I might ask the following question. Why are the lounges empty and no one is enjoying a cocktail out on the fantail ?

Best Regards, Onespots

[deej696]

We smuggled for several cruises, but with our last one, I believe those days are over. We had never known about liquor through Bon Voyage until this most recent sailing. We bought a few bottles of what we normally drink, as well as brought on our wine. For us, its less about saving money, and more about wanting access to it in my room so we can sit on the balcony with a beverage. Buying through Bon Voyage provided that, and it still works out far less than buying per drink at a bar.

[BlueJacketsFan1]

I haven't ever smuggled in thing on any of the ships yet, I have thought about it. Drinks being offered for $2.99 would be great. I agree with someone early, I would probably drink a little more if they did lower the price.

[divingmedic]

We smuggled for several cruises, but with our last one, I believe those days are over. We had never known about liquor through Bon Voyage until this most recent sailing. We bought a few bottles of what we normally drink, as well as brought on our wine. For us, its less about saving money, and more about wanting access to it in my room so we can sit on the balcony with a beverage. Buying through Bon Voyage provided that, and it still works out far less than buying per drink at a bar.

I do not know what you drink, but on their rum they only offer a very limited selection and what they do offer is low end cheap rums that can be bought for $6 a liter at the local store and they charge $40-50 for the same cheap hooch.

[crewsweeper]

I don't think $2.99 drinks or even $2 beers during a "happy hour" would change any of my on board drinking patterns. Smuggling is usually just a small rum runner of a nice single malt scotch for sipping out on the balcony in the evenings. Most booze and beer I've brought on board were brought because the ship didn't carry what I was drinking at the time. I used to bring canned microbrews too, but when I wound up taking 8 of 12 cans home one cruise, I stopped.

 

I don't smuggle to save $$. I don't see the ship prices as being all that out of line with any local nightclub. Maybe your local local corner neighborhood bar and local big box store. But price these versus any decent restaurant (or even a mid range chain) or your pre-cruise hotel/restaurant bar and they're pretty close.

[Cristallo]

I have been reading that Princess has been offering a sort of Happy Hour or special on their various ships, mostly after 8 pm at night however even that seems to vary ship to ship

 

They seem to offer a couple drinks, Pina Colada, Long Island Ice Tea, etc plus house "well" drinks for ONLY $2.99

 

now..that would really be sweet...apparently it is ONLY for this summer, but I was thinking....maybe Carnival will/could do something like this??

 

At $2.99 I would be very happy, no need to smuggle!

 

 

If they had this some people might be inclined to drink more. My husband and I are the take it or leave it type when it comes to drinking. On our upcoming cruise we're only giving ourselves 3 drinks max for a 5 day cruise because the prices are high.

[viaggi_per_mare]

.......if drinks were $2.99, just think how fast everyone would get their checked luggage:p

[goofytoo]

$2.99 drinks would stop our smuggling.

 

The funny thing is we have used many elaborate schemes to smuggle on our cruises. Yet we prefer to drink on deck so we end up buying drinks and do not use our smuggled booze.

 

Happens everytime, bar bills over $300.00 and end up packing our booze back up to bring home.

[pnjkeith]

Many smuggle because Carnival does not offer drink of choice.

[GottaLuvCruising]

We don't smuggle, but with $2.99 drinks, we'd likely imbibe more!

[cherbear4000]

If they had this some people might be inclined to drink more. My husband and I are the take it or leave it type when it comes to drinking. On our upcoming cruise we're only giving ourselves 3 drinks max for a 5 day cruise because the prices are high.

 

 

DH and I are the same way. We will drink at home but hate paying bar prices. We don't smuggle since we usually fly in the morning of the cruise and it is too much of a hassle putting alcohol in our checked bags. When we are on the cruise we usually only buy a couple of drinks each due to the high prices. If drinks were $2.99 even if it is just during a certain time, we would definately take advantage of it and drink more. Since we would feel we were getting a good value for our money, I know we would end up with a higher s&s bill with $2.99 drinks than with the higher priced drinks since we would be drinking a lot more.

[overeasy]

My 1750ml of vodka would have translated to roughly 40 drinks over the course of the week's cruise (if each drink had 44ml?). At $2.99 plus tip, that's about $137. Yes, that's about the price point where I would consider not bringing my own aboard. One benefit of bringing my own, though: I had just enough left over for the long boring customs line after the cruise.

[go&see]

I'm one of those people that once I've had a couple drinks I often want to continue drinking. If the first few drinks were only 2.99 I'd probably keep drinking when happy hour ended & the prices went back to normal, especially if I had a bit of a buzz going :rolleyes: I think it would be smarter for them to have the cheaper drinks before dinner time, or maybe before the shows. Also, at 2.99, they're barely making any money so I don't see it being offered for a very extended period of time, just an hour here or there to encourage folks to start drinking.

We don't tend to smuggle much, maybe just bring on a couple of local beers from the ports or a small bottle of local rum but 2.99 drinks would certainly encourage me to spend more onboard instead of just getting cheap drinks in port.

[madge57]

smugglers do it because they can and also for the thrill of doing it.. Just because someone likes to drink does not make them have an issue with alcohol!!! Where did you come up with that???? I'm I in denial NOPE!!!! I know the difference and maybe some don't!! We use to smuggle but now we are using the BV much easier and we don't have to carry the heavy luggage!!! :D

[MMMD]

I have been reading that Princess has been offering a sort of Happy Hour or special on their various ships, mostly after 8 pm at night however even that seems to vary ship to ship

 

They seem to offer a couple drinks, Pina Colada, Long Island Ice Tea, etc plus house "well" drinks for ONLY $2.99

 

now..that would really be sweet...apparently it is ONLY for this summer, but I was thinking....maybe Carnival will/could do something like this??

 

At $2.99 I would be very happy, no need to smuggle!

Those that wish to break the rules will do so, no matter what. Free drinks wouldn't help, as those same rule breakers will still find something to complain about.

Seems like the line between honesty and dishonesty is blurred here.

[Chirpbird]

I have been reading that Princess has been offering a sort of Happy Hour or special on their various ships, mostly after 8 pm at night however even that seems to vary ship to ship

 

They seem to offer a couple drinks, Pina Colada, Long Island Ice Tea, etc plus house "well" drinks for ONLY $2.99

 

now..that would really be sweet...apparently it is ONLY for this summer, but I was thinking....maybe Carnival will/could do something like this??

 

At $2.99 I would be very happy, no need to smuggle!

I've only cruised once (RCI), and am anxiously awaiting my next cruise on CCL (May 2011). I smuggled on RCI, and I won't be on CCL. The difference? CCL allows me to buy a bottle of alcohol for my room through their Bon Voyage department. For me, it wasn't about the money. It's about having a cocktail or two while getting dressed. I don't really want to throw a robe on my naked self to go buy a cocktail.

[cancruise99]

More of a wine drinker here.

I'd prefer that I could bring all my own wine on, and Carnival could charge me a corkage fee for every bottle brought on board, or every bottle past their 1 bottle per person limit.

I wouldn't mind paying $10 per extra bottle. It would allow me to bring the bottles that I enjoy, and for the more expensive wine I wouldn't get the ridicules mark-ups.

I honestly am planning on trying to "smuggle" two extra bottles of wine on my next cruise. I find 2 bottles of wine is not nearly enough, I'll probably buy two more bottles of wine of the cruise also for a total of 6 while on the cruise.

I also will buy a few mixed drinks each day also.

Ideally I'd like to be able to bring 1 bottle of wine per cabin per day on to the ship.

[paul07ss]

Yes

[JerseyshoreBruce]

2.99 drinks would have too many people drunk! Wouldn't affect me though because i don't worry about the price...i am there to have a goodtime so i drink how ever much i want! Buckets are what i get anyway!