from the mouth of college students

[oliviaonthe beach]

In a recent conversation with my college senior daughter, I was sharing my dismay over not finding a definitive answer about whether I can have a couple of good bottles of wine in my cabin on our upcoming Oasis cruise and she looked at me quizically and said, "Are you telling me that they want to try to prevent you from having alcohol in your cabin?" When I replied that I was starting to get that impression, she replied, "That sounds like college dorm rules not an adult vacation that you have paid thousands of dollars for!"

 

Anyone else echo her sentiment and can anyone say for sure if I can buy a bottle of wine from the wine bar or anywhere else and bring it to my cabin??? There are so many differing stories out there. Yes, I have done a thorough search on this forum and I am awaiting a response from an email I sent to RCCL.

[obsessedsc]

On FOS in 2008 we bought a few bottles of wine pre-cruise from RCL and they were in our room when we got on board. Our room steward kept fresh ice in an ice bucket in the room for us to keep it cold! But in 2 years things may change

[CptSticky]

In a recent conversation with my college senior daughter, I was sharing my dismay over not finding a definitive answer about whether I can have a couple of good bottles of wine in my cabin on our upcoming Oasis cruise and she looked at me quizically and said, "Are you telling me that they want to try to prevent you from having alcohol in your cabin?" When I replied that I was starting to get that impression, she replied, "That sounds like college dorm rules not an adult vacation that you have paid thousands of dollars for!"

 

Anyone else echo her sentiment and can anyone say for sure if I can buy a bottle of wine from the wine bar or anywhere else and bring it to my cabin??? There are so many differing stories out there. Yes, I have done a thorough search on this forum and I am awaiting a response from an email I sent to RCCL.

Any bottle that you buy in the MDR can be taken to the room.

[ivycruise]

That annoyed us about RCI, not being able to bring a bottle of wine PP on board. We still order far more drinks from the bar and while dining. It's just a convenience thing for us to have pre-dinner and on our balcony. What's even more perplexing is we just did a cruise on Celebrity and they allow 1 bottle PP for those 21 and over. Wonder why the difference in process when part of the same corporation?

[CptSticky]

That annoyed us about RCI, not being able to bring a bottle of wine PP on board. We still order far more drinks from the bar and while dining. It's just a convenience thing for us to have pre-dinner and on our balcony. What's even more perplexing is we just did a cruise on Celebrity and they allow 1 bottle PP for those 21 and over. Wonder why the difference in process when part of the same corporation?

On our last X cruise, we took a "straw poll" and decided that RCI is trying to move some of it's loyal pax over to X. They gave us the red carpet treatment vs what we get on Royal.

[Mark_K]

In a recent conversation with my college senior daughter, I was sharing my dismay over not finding a definitive answer about whether I can have a couple of good bottles of wine in my cabin on our upcoming Oasis cruise and she looked at me quizically and said, "Are you telling me that they want to try to prevent you from having alcohol in your cabin?" When I replied that I was starting to get that impression, she replied, "That sounds like college dorm rules not an adult vacation that you have paid thousands of dollars for!"

 

Anyone else echo her sentiment and can anyone say for sure if I can buy a bottle of wine from the wine bar or anywhere else and bring it to my cabin??? There are so many differing stories out there. Yes, I have done a thorough search on this forum and I am awaiting a response from an email I sent to RCCL.

Unless things have changed you can order wine from room service.

[oliviaonthe beach]

Thanks for your responses so far, but does anyone know for sure whether I can go to the Vintages wine bar, purchase a bottle and take it to my cabin?

[BrianAlt]

Thanks for your responses so far, but does anyone know for sure whether I can go to the Vintages wine bar, purchase a bottle and take it to my cabin?

 

Once it's open, I'm pretty sure you can take it anywhere you like.

[richs52]

I've been on four RCCL crusies and each cruise have bought multiple bottles of wine in Vintages and other bars and brought them to my room. Absolutley never a problem whatsoever.

 

Enjoy your cruise.

[RoyalCruiser2007]

That annoyed us about RCI, not being able to bring a bottle of wine PP on board. We still order far more drinks from the bar and while dining. It's just a convenience thing for us to have pre-dinner and on our balcony. What's even more perplexing is we just did a cruise on Celebrity and they allow 1 bottle PP for those 21 and over. Wonder why the difference in process when part of the same corporation?

During the 2009 RCL shareholder meeting, as a favor to a friend who cruises on both lines, I asked Royal Caribbean International President & CEO Adam Goldstein and Celebrity President Dan Hanrahan about this and the firm answer was that Royal Caribbean International and Celebrity are too completely different brands. Though they share the same owner, they each have their own policies.

[Paul65]

Sorry you had trouble finding the answer to that question. You can most certainly buy a bottle of wine to bring back to your cabin.

[cb at sea]

I always wonder why a bottle of wine is ok, but not a bottle of booze....makes no sense at all!

But you can take any and all drinks to your cabin, as long as you "buy it by the drink"...they don't care where or how much you drink...only that you pay their premium price for it!

[ivycruise]

On our last X cruise, we took a "straw poll" and decided that RCI is trying to move some of it's loyal pax over to X. They gave us the red carpet treatment vs what we get on Royal.

 

Very true. We found the service on X to be the best we've encountered over any line or ship. Once kids are out of the picture we see many more cruises on Celebrity.

[Paul65]

I always wonder why a bottle of wine is ok, but not a bottle of booze....makes no sense at all!

 

It has to do with the potential for abuse. A bottle of wine is about 5 "servings" of alcohol, while a bottle of booze is more like 16.

[Cruising89143]

As of last week on the Freedom, yes you can order a bottle of wine through room service. No issues at all.

[Norwegianlatvian]

I "Are you telling me that they want to try to prevent you from having alcohol in your cabin?" When I replied that I was starting to get that impression, she replied, "That sounds like college dorm rules not an adult vacation that you have paid thousands of dollars for!"

 

 

I know about some college dorms that you pay thousands of dollars for.... The service aint as good as at RCCLs "dorms":)

[oliviaonthe beach]

Wow! So true...since my paycheck is still being deposited at my daughter's university for one more year, I should have thought of that myself! :)

[Happy ks]

Since around 2005 (I think that's the right year) RCI has disallowed bringing aboard wine, booze bottles were never allowed. Coincidentally around the same time there were a couple of overboard pax who had brought aboard their own booze. They cracked down hard after a couple of lawsuits.

 

We now pre-order bottles of wine and have them delivered to our cabin upon embarkation. Silly rule and expensive, but that's just the way it is. We have not purchased any bottles from Vines, but I think I'd be surprised if they didn't allow it. We have taken open bottles from the dining room back to our cabin in the past.

 

They (RCI) does not say you cannot drink in your cabin, they just disallow you from bringing your own wine and booze onboard.

[Sugar*Magnolia]

I always wonder why a bottle of wine is ok, but not a bottle of booze....makes no sense at all!

But you can take any and all drinks to your cabin, as long as you "buy it by the drink"...they don't care where or how much you drink...only that you pay their premium price for it!

 

Drink prices are pretty average actually. Nothing different then here in the NJ/NY area.

[NordicPrince]

During the 2009 RCL shareholder meeting, as a favor to a friend who cruises on both lines, I asked Royal Caribbean International President & CEO Adam Goldstein and Celebrity President Dan Hanrahan about this and the firm answer was that Royal Caribbean International and Celebrity are too completely different brands. Though they share the same owner, they each have their own policies.

 

"Oh I like to dance a little sidestep, now you see me, now you don't.."

song from Best Little Whorehouse in Texas

 

They didn't really answer the question did they!

[bmarchal]

I thoutht they had a corkage fee. In other words, if you buy a bottle of booze and pay the additional fee, you can take the booze with you. I have not experianced this personally but I have heard talk about it. It's worth asking the question in the liquor store.

[Aquahound]

Drink prices are pretty average actually. Nothing different then here in the NJ/NY area.

 

...and the drink prices are less than what I pay here in KW.

[katiel53]

I thoutht they had a corkage fee. In other words, if you buy a bottle of booze and pay the additional fee, you can take the booze with you. I have not experianced this personally but I have heard talk about it. It's worth asking the question in the liquor store.

 

The corkage fee applies to wines that are ordered to be sent to your cabin. Should you decide that you want to drink that wine in the dining room, a corkage fee applies.

 

This policy makes absolutely no sense to me as it is wine purchased on the ship, not smuggled. If you buy wine to be sent to the dining room though, you can take it to your cabin.

 

It seems, at least to me, that if I have paid for a bottle of wine with Royal Caribbean, I should be able to take it wherever I want without a corkage fee. I mean, seriously, they got the price of the wine plus gratuity, so why should I have to pay an additional fee to drink it in the dining room??????????

[Cruising89143]

Drink prices are pretty average actually. Nothing different then here in the NJ/NY area.

 

I agree. The prices on the ship are in line with what we pay her in Atlanta. Back in May we paid more for drinks in Ft. Lauderdale than we did once on board the Oasis.

 

Now if someone is trying to compare the prices on the ship for what they would pay for beer or wine at the supermarket then yes it is going to be more expensive.

[Trevoli]

I absolutely agree. Why should a corkage fee apply to wine bought on the premises?

 

It would be like paying a fee to open a bottle of wine I bought at a restaurant FROM THEIR WINE LIST!!!

 

Makes 0 sense.