Warning about bringing wine on board

[April2412]

Just wanted to give everyone a quick warning about bringing on wine. Carnival allows each person to bring on a bottle of wine and we have done this many times before. Even this last March we brought wine on. We normally put this in our luggage and its ok, but Carnival is no longer ok with this. Your wine MUST be in your carry on bags. Since we have cruised with them before we did not read the rules, so packed the wine in the luggage and had the wine taken. When the bags came to our room we had a note inside telling us the wine had been confiscated. We called the guest service desk to find out why and they told us it was a new policy and all wine had to be in your carry on bag. We asked them when this changed and they said January. We told them that we had cruised with them in March and it was ok then, they told us they didn't start enforcing the policy until March / April.

[Georgie562]

Sorry about Ur experience but I do believe the wine policy is clearly stated in the ticket contracts.

[Fourseventeen]

Yup learned my lesson the hard way too on our Oct 3rd cruise. $350.00 bottle of Dom Perignon for my wedding anni on the 5th....yeah that sucked! They took it at embark and left us a little note. I went down to speak to the guest services manager and didnt get anywhere but an attitude from her saying it was my fault I didnt read the rules. I have ALWAYS packed champagne or wine in my carry on and never once had an issue with CCL. Airlines require you to keep it in your checked bags so why wouldnt the cruise lines do the same to make things simple.

[LambKnuckles]

I'm so sorry this happened to you! And to fellow cruisers...

 

I would want to carry glass bottles in my carry on for protection and my sanity of knowing that a break didn't ruin things in my suitcase... And I have a two bottle carry one that's designed for wine bottles...

 

Thanks for letting us know this is truly being enforced.

[MrPete]

I just checked my subscription for yesterday news.

 

Yup, that tidbit it there too.

 

I guess some people need personal.notification for travel changes.

[lady_cruiser]

April 2412 thanks for letting us know. I think Carnival is doing this because some people were taken advantage of the rule by bringing wine onboard not only with their carry-on but also in their checked luggage. And we all know that the cruiselines DO monitor these boards so when people share their "secrets" with us they are also sharing them with the cruiselines.

 

While I am a Royal Fan, I do cruise on Carnival and I like their rule that allows us to bring up to two bottles of wine, unlike Royal Caribbean that won't even allow us to carry on just one bottle.

[dst]

WOW - I wonder why they started really cracking down. We took a short cruise in May on the Sensation and two people that we spoke with said Carnival took all of the liquor from their suitcases; we thought it was just coincidence but it seems as though they really are cracking down,

 

Its just a pain to carry wine on; I am a little picky when it comes to wine so I usually bring some, along with a bottle of Vodka for martini's in our cabin (again because they have a poor selection). Not sure if we will be doing this for our upcoming cruise :(

[firefly333]

There have also been a few threads about people who wouldnt listen about bringing soda in their CARRY ON ONLY. That they had to remove all the drinks before they could check their suitcase with the porters. ...

 

Many people who even know about the new rules are arguing they are too lazy, its too heavy.

[CWcruisers]

OP what ship were you on?

[cpayne]

Yup learned my lesson the hard way too on our Oct 3rd cruise. $350.00 bottle of Dom Perignon for my wedding anni on the 5th....yeah that sucked! They took it at embark and left us a little note. I went down to speak to the guest services manager and didnt get anywhere but an attitude from her saying it was my fault I didnt read the rules. I have ALWAYS packed champagne or wine in my carry on and never once had an issue with CCL. Airlines require you to keep it in your checked bags so why wouldnt the cruise lines do the same to make things simple.

 

Did they return the bottle at the end of your cruise???

[DGP1111]

Sorry about Ur experience but I do believe the wine policy is clearly stated in the ticket contracts.

 

I just checked my subscription for yesterday news.

 

Yup, that tidbit it there too.

 

I guess some people need personal.notification for travel changes.

.

.

I'm just playing Devil's Advocate here for a moment . . .

I'm sailing on Carnival Dream next month, and I have a complete copy of the 'Cruise Ticket Contract Terms' printed with the rest of my boarding documents and luggage tags. All documents were printed in March 2009, when my agreement with CCL began. If it weren't for my full understanding of the changes that I've clearly read here on Cruise Critic, how would/should I have known about the changes, and would I be allowed to voice disappointment with them snagging my "one allowed bottle" of wine I was bringing onboard, the way my printed contract allowed??

[mohendry]

Is the policy 2 bottles per person, or 2 bottles per cabin?

[firefly333]

Is the policy 2 bottles per person, or 2 bottles per cabin?

 

the policy is one 750 ml bottle per adult.

[drosphot]

Is the policy 2 bottles per person, or 2 bottles per cabin?

 

One 750ml bottle per person that is 21 years of age or older. There is no cabin limit.

[CWcruisers]

Is the policy 2 bottles per person, or 2 bottles per cabin?

 

 

One bottle per person, so if you are traveling solo, only one bottle per cabin.

 

Don, did the contract from 2009 state how the allotted wine had to be brought on board? If not, I think you've got them.

[firefly333]

One bottle per person, so if you are traveling solo, only one bottle per cabin.

 

Don, did the contract from 2009 state how the allotted wine had to be brought on board? If not, I think you've got them.

 

I can name about 5 other things that Carnival has changed after cruises were booked and says they now have the right to change anything. Just got back from the Conquest. They had a policy of $25 pp for missed ports, but they now only give the tax on the port charges, which is much less than the $25 pp. I would have gotten about $60 more OBC if they had done what the policy was when I booked .. as just the last instance, where Carnival says the policy when you booked doesnt matter, its what it is when you sail.

[DGP1111]

Don, did the contract from 2009 state how the allotted wine had to be brought on board? If not, I think you've got them.

 

Nope, definitely no mention of it having to be in carry-on, but it will not be an issue, as I normally carry it in my boarding bag unless I am flying to the port (since no liquids allowed in flight carry-on).

 

For my Carnival Destiny sailing last month, I had to do the 'switcheroo' between bags (on arrival) since I flew to that cruise.

 

The changes will cause me zero issues, but I just wanted to add that it could be a challenge for someone (like myself) who tends to book waaaay early for best rates and cabin selection.

[salty dingo]

You would not have that problem if you had locked your bags.

 

It's a very basic rule... ALWAYS LOCK your checked luggage!!

 

If you leave it unlocked, they can search for and remove any suspected contraband, and can do it very efficiently.

 

If locked, they bags must be diverted to the naughty room, and that causes the crew to do extra handling and to staff the naughty room, and it just generally takes more time.

 

So, please do not help to make their booze confiscation more efficient and effective. Lock your bags!!

[nothomeonacruise]

Why pack your wine before you come? Why not buy it when you get to Florida? Surely, you pass places on the way from the airport where you can buy it. You can have your taxi detour to one. That way you don't have to dig through your suitcase and get it out at port. You can get water and soda, too.

[Tazwella]

Thanks for the information!!! I'll be cruising on the Triumph in January and I was planning to take on some wine, rum and sodas.

 

So I get that we can bring on 1 bottle of wine per adult in our carryons. What is the rule about sodas? Can I bring a 12 pack in my carryon? I need my Dr Pepper and most ships don't have it. And I think rum is a no-no altogether, right?

 

Thanks!

[ChefSusan]

There have also been a few threads about people who wouldnt listen about bringing soda in their CARRY ON ONLY. That they had to remove all the drinks before they could check their suitcase with the porters. ...

 

Many people who even know about the new rules are arguing they are too lazy, its too heavy.

The reason why people want to put their sodas/water/wine in their checked luggage is because they are too lazy to schlep it around with them. This is why we either limit what soda/water we are bringing with us, or just have what's on board. As for the wine issue, we always have it in our carry-on - don't want to have it break/leak all over our luggage.

 

Is the policy 2 bottles per person, or 2 bottles per cabin?

It is one 750ml bottle per person over 21, and it must be in your carry-on bags.

[DGP1111]

. . . Why not buy it when you get to Florida? Surely, you pass places on the way from the airport where you can buy it. . .

 

Correct, as long as it's not a Sunday morning in numerous states.

[firefly333]

Thanks for the information!!! I'll be cruising on the Triumph in January and I was planning to take on some wine, rum and sodas.

 

So I get that we can bring on 1 bottle of wine per adult in our carryons. What is the rule about sodas? Can I bring a 12 pack in my carryon? I need my Dr Pepper and most ships don't have it. And I think rum is a no-no altogether, right?

 

Thanks!

 

A package of 12 non-alchoholic drinks in your carry on only per person.

 

Doesnt note size of the sodas, only that its 12 per person in your carry on.

[Chris41]

WOW - I wonder why they started really cracking down. We took a short cruise in May on the Sensation and two people that we spoke with said Carnival took all of the liquor from their suitcases; we thought it was just coincidence but it seems as though they really are cracking down,

 

Its just a pain to carry wine on; I am a little picky when it comes to wine so I usually bring some, along with a bottle of Vodka for martini's in our cabin (again because they have a poor selection). Not sure if we will be doing this for our upcoming cruise :(

 

 

Well that right there is part of the reason I would say. I am not picking on you but the contract clearly states 1 bottle of wine per adult not some wine and a bottle of Vodka. Since I enjoy having vodka in my room I have started ordering Grey Goose from Bon Voyage which is much simpler than trying to get it on and wondering if it will make it

[Forchunut1]

I think it is very clear from all the threads and posts about what you can and can't do on a Carnival cruise, that they are making it very difficult for their customers to know the rules.

 

I would think that Carnival, since they are known to read CC, would attempt to implement some sort of process that would allow customers to be aware of changes - website notice, etc.

 

We can all tell each other to "read the contract", but in reality, even for those who have, it doesn't mean something hasn't changed by the time they leave for their cruise. And, since I haven't "read my contract" with a fine tooth comb, I don't know this for sure, but I suspect there is language that allows Carnival to change the contract at any time, even after the contract has been issued at the time of booking. :(