HAL policy on bringing alcohol onboard

[clojacks]

Being as this is our first sailing on HAL, I'm curious as to what their policy, or silent policy, is regarding bring alcohol on board. We have sailed Princess, Carnival, RCCL and realize the enforcement on each varies and sometimes depends on departure port. Hell, we were almost redirected into the Duty Free shop in San Juan before boarding and assured that we could bring what we wanted on board. Which we did, including a liter of Bombay Sapphire, a couple of bottles of tonic, and a couple of bottles of wine in our carryons.

 

We will be sailing the Eurodam in a couple of weeks out of Fort Lauderdale, and are wondering if it is acceptable to bring anything on board, or strongly discouraged by previous customers.

[Boytjie]

What do people mean by "is it acceptable"?

 

I have seen the question asked "Is it acceptable to bring alcohol on board?" (while the HAL policy is no).

 

And "Is it acceptable to take a glass of your own wine to teh public areas of the ship?"

 

Are you for asking others' blessing to do what you believe or suspect to be against the rules or improper? Why would their blessing make any difference?

 

:confused::confused::confused:

[planobob]

Being as this is our first sailing on HAL, I'm curious as to what their policy, or silent policy, is regarding bring alcohol on board. We have sailed Princess, Carnival, RCCL and realize the enforcement on each varies and sometimes depends on departure port. Hell, we were almost redirected into the Duty Free shop in San Juan before boarding and assured that we could bring what we wanted on board. Which we did, including a liter of Bombay Sapphire, a couple of bottles of tonic, and a couple of bottles of wine in our carryons.

 

We will be sailing the Eurodam in a couple of weeks out of Fort Lauderdale, and are wondering if it is acceptable to bring anything on board, or strongly discouraged by previous customers.

 

From Holland America's (www.hollandamerica.com) on board policies:

 

"Can I Bring Alcoholic Beverages Onboard?

 

 

Except for wine and champagne, alcoholic beverages purchased in the vessel's shops or otherwise brought on the ship cannot be consumed on the ship. Bottles and other containers will be collected for safekeeping and delivered to your stateroom on the last day of the voyage.

A corkage fee of US$18.00 applies to wine and champagne brought to the restaurants or bars for consumption.

Room Service offers reduced-price stateroom beverage packages for in-stateroom consumption of alcoholic beverages".

 

Enjoy your cruise.

 

Bob

 

.

[RuthC]

HAL's policy allows you to bring aboard as much wine, champagne, soda, and water, as you wish. That's both at embarkation and at ports along the way.

There's no charge to drink the wine in your cabin. There's an $18 per bottle corkage to bring it to the dining room, or a lounge.

The policy prohibits bringing aboard beer and hard liquor.

[kazu]

HAL's policy allows you to bring aboard as much wine, champagne, soda, and water, as you wish. That's both at embarkation and at ports along the way.

There's no charge to drink the wine in your cabin. There's an $18 per bottle corkage to bring it to the dining room, or a lounge.

 

The policy prohibits bringing aboard beer and hard liquor.

 

thank you Ruth for turning the thread around :) yup, all the wine, soda & water you want - what more can you ask for in life?

[fann1sh]

...and let me add that the cost of ordering a liter (34 ounces) of liquor sent to your cabin from HAL is much less than you (or at least, *I*) would expect from a cruise line.

 

Prices start in the $30 - 35 range. List can be found on the HAL website, or here, courtesy of Krazy Kruisers:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=27472031&postcount=3

 

P.S.: if you drink wine as well as gin, do visit Total Wine, "Disneyland for wine drinking adults", near the 17th St. Causeway hotels.

 

1906 Cordova Road

Fort Lauderdale, FL 33316

(954) 828-9463

 

I you pre-order, they'll have your wine boxed and ready for pick up.

[Brklynguy]

HA is the best line for alcohol. They sell reasonably priced bottles and setups for your room; our friends brought champagne (allowed) and vodka (not allowed) both in their luggage. For that type of drinking, just buy it for the room and don't worry about it.

 

We did not see restrictions on moving around with drinks in hand except that in pool areas they required use of the plastic glasses - again sensible.

[waverley7]

I have a small carry size pull style luggage that I want to use to take bottles of wine and pop on board. Can I keep that with me upon check in? I don't want them throwing that piece of luggage around! lol

[catl331]

I have a small carry size pull style luggage that I want to use to take bottles of wine and pop on board. Can I keep that with me upon check in? I don't want them throwing that piece of luggage around! lol

If it's small enough to go through the x-ray scanner you can keep it with you.

[hylasgirl]

HAL's policy allows you to bring aboard as much wine, champagne, soda, and water, as you wish. That's both at embarkation and at ports along the way.

There's no charge to drink the wine in your cabin. There's an $18 per bottle corkage to bring it to the dining room, or a lounge.

The policy prohibits bringing aboard beer and hard liquor.

 

 

This is such a great policy!

 

It's frustrating when people STILL say that you cannot bring anything onboard. YOU CAN!

 

Last time at the pier, there was a lady in front of me looking at our case of wine we were bringing and turned around and nastily said "You know, they are going to take that away from you!" And I smiled and said "well, if not for the policy that allows me to bring on all the wine I want, they might..."

 

And I still spend plenty in their bars. We just like have a few glasses here and there while we are getting ready for dinner and we also love to host a sail-away wine party each cruise.

[Plnrboy]

One of the great reasons (not the only one) to sail HAL. Wine and soft drinks/water. Others nickle and dime you on this stuff. We bring lots of wine and of course still have a bar tab at the end but not as big of one on HAL. We love our wine. :)

[Oceanwench]

I have a small carry size pull style luggage that I want to use to take bottles of wine and pop on board. Can I keep that with me upon check in? I don't want them throwing that piece of luggage around! lol

 

Yes - I have one too. I always take wine in it and keep it with me when I board. But my BIL has to lift it up for the X-Ray scanner! ;)

[m steve]

I have never had a problem bringing ANYTHING on board in my checked bags. HAL and Princess are the most liberal of the lines we have cruised on.

[catl331]

I have never had a problem bringing ANYTHING on board in my checked bags. HAL and Princess are the most liberal of the lines we have cruised on.

Or perhaps just the most lax on rule enforcement.

[JJGlanton]

Last Feb on a 7 day Eurodam Eastern Carribean cruise we didn't bother to try and bring alcohol on board, as it's easy to 'gift' yourself a bottle for the room prior to the cruise where it's waiting for you in your cabin when you arrive, or from room service anytime..

 

We did research this before we left, and HAL's alcohol prices seemed very reasonable - much more so than other cruise lines - 30 bucks for a liter (not a fifth) of stoli. If you'd like a nice wine for dinner no problem bringing this with you but there is a corkage if you bring it with you to the MDR or a bar - we didn't try this.

 

Also, in San Juan we bought a couple of nice bottles of cognac at the port liquor store to take home with us, fully expecting them to be handed over when we went through security, and held until the end of the cruise. They just waved us through with no problem at all.

 

That's what we liked about the HAL experience - not being hassled over this kind of stuff. Also drink prices on board were very reasonable - 6.75 at that time for cocktails with premium liquor for example, which included tip - although we tipped our awesome bartender extra at the end of the cruise.

[serendipity1499]

I have never had a problem bringing ANYTHING on board in my checked bags. HAL and Princess are the most liberal of the lines we have cruised on.

 

Actually Oceania is more liberal than HAL!They do not have a restriction on bringing wine & liquor on board, unless you bring too much..Of course, their cabins & hotel service charge is usually more expensive than HAL's..

Cheers....:)Betty

[kyriecat]

Just an FYI when ordering beer / wine / liquor in advance. For some ports (not sure if all), there is an alcohol tax added to your purchase if you request that your alcoholic beverages be delivered to your cabin while in port. I'm not sure what the tax % is - probably varies by port.

 

I did not want to pay the extra tax so requested that my liquor be delivered "at sea" on the first day. The bottle was waiting in the cabin when we got onboard. I don't know if that is standard practice or if we happened to get lucky that time since it was my first time sailing on HAL. I ordered a bottle of liquor for my cruise next month and also requested that it be delivered "at sea". Maybe it will be in my cabin when I board.

[drcandon]

To a PP - Hal is not LAX they are simply reasonable...they realise that one way or another certain folks will get booze on board, whether in clear plastic bottles ( its water ya know) or some other way. And yes, I have seen folks and talked to the same ones who do it in the most interesting way.

 

The "as much wine/soda as you can carry is good", after all how many bottles can you really haul by yourself? I hauled 6 once and swore I would never do that much again.

 

Now, I will admit I have seen some inconsistencies on port booze...again in San Juan it was a basic free for all, but in other ports it was confiscated - and on the same cruise. Yes, DW saw it as well so I was not hallucinating from cheap margaritas.

[Randyk47]

To a PP - Hal is not LAX they are simply reasonable...they realise that one way or another certain folks will get booze on board, whether in clear plastic bottles ( its water ya know) or some other way. And yes, I have seen folks and talked to the same ones who do it in the most interesting way.

 

The "as much wine/soda as you can carry is good", after all how many bottles can you really haul by yourself? I hauled 6 once and swore I would never do that much again.

 

Now, I will admit I have seen some inconsistencies on port booze...again in San Juan it was a basic free for all, but in other ports it was confiscated - and on the same cruise. Yes, DW saw it as well so I was not hallucinating from cheap margaritas.

 

Even flying in the day before I really don't feel like running around Ft Lauderdale trying to pick up diet lime Coke and the five or six bottles of wine we might consume during a cruise. The very thought of having to haul all that on the ship along with the bags we already have is just not worth it to us. As for buying hard liquor at a port stop and getting it back on the ship I too have seen people get their purchases on the ship without having to give them up for end of cruise return but it's not often. Typically I'd say security is pretty good about spotting the liquor and taking it away.

[Krazy Kruizers]

we always pre-order alcohol for the cabin

florida does impose their taxes on pre-ordered alcohol that you ask to be delivered to the cabin before sailing

ft lauderdale is 7 percent

tampa i think is also 7 percent

and key west is 7 1/2 per cent

these taxes are also added onto your drink bill if you purchase a cocktail before the ship is 10 miles out to sea

[cruz chic]

Even flying in the day before I really don't feel like running around Ft Lauderdale trying to pick up diet lime Coke and the five or six bottles of wine we might consume during a cruise. The very thought of having to haul all that on the ship along with the bags we already have is just not worth it to us.

I'm SO with you on that. It seems like a huge pain in the but to deal with that PLUS my luggage. I buy all my booze on board and I'm ok with that.