How do I bring alcohol on board?

[TolleranzaDelDio]

I think it's funny that the person took the time to post that. If they really cared, then they can stand in port with the baggage checks and go on their crusade. Yeah, some things are a lil outrageous but just be glad no one is making you do it if that's what you think. I love freedom of speech. :rolleyes:

[pharaoh]

Hahah exactly. I don't know why people bother to be so negative about something that doesn't affect them at all. It's okay, cocktails in my cabin at 10:15, okay? :cool:

 

:D

[barryod]

Plastic has a tendency to retain the taste of the original content, so be careful. I had some nice Beefeaters with an after taste of apple cider while doing a tour in Viet Nam. A few years ago, while boarding our ship in Puerto Rico, a couple were having a heated debate. Apparently the husband packed the booze in the wife's suitecase and it broke. Tough way to start the cruise as they had to drag that bag around until the room was ready. I love a good time and I don't want to be anyone's moral guardian, but if you're spending a lot of time trying figure out how to get booze on board.......think about it.

barryod.

[starbubble]

I cruised on NCL three years ago. I had an old bar bag from the 50's that holds 3 medium bottles. I packed it with my clothing and was not caught. I also bought liquor in port filled up the bottles again. It kinda looks like a makeup bag. Very plain brown.

[jnakkula]

any new ideas for getting alcohol on NCL...as we are going on spring break and would like to have some alcohol with us as the drinks on board we have heard are very pricey!! any help would be great :) thanks

[silasomar]

I've decided to put my libations in my buddy's bag. If it breaks, he's gonna suffer. If it's discovered, he's gonna suffer. Guilt-free cruising for me! :)

 

Actually, most of my friends use the small hard-sided plastic flasks you can buy at Cabela's, Wal-mart or any other store that has a decent-sized "outdoors" department. They have a tight seal that should prevent most leakage and will pass through a scanner with ease. Tucking it inside a plastic bag will also help; you can use the plastic bag to store dirty clothes when disembarking as well.

[Monterey Girl]

We returned a week ago Friday . The couple we shared a table with shortly after boarding were REALLY steamed as his 2 bottles of very expensive wine were confiscated until the end of the cruise.:mad: IMO what causes the problems is the conflicting info from customer service,He said he got the same info I did before leaving home. That you can bring 2 bottles of wine per cabin IF that wine is not sold by the ship. I guess the bottom line is DON'T bring your own booze on board. MG :) :)

[ktaknittel]

I have brought 2 blenders, one cooler, 3 or 4 big plastic bottles of the premixed mudslides etc and have never had a problem. We always give out business size invitation cards for predinner cocktails in our room.Always meet great people. We go around and grab snacks and a great time is always had by all. I was on a cruise in January from New Orleans going Feb break from San Juan with 14 people .. hope to see someone on the Destany>

[Jesska0429]

I am NOT passing judgement on anyone ... BUT if you have devised a scheme that works for you, and you're comfortable with it, why broadcast it here?

 

It's not like cruiseline employees don't have access to these very boards and don't read all about the various and sundry ways you choose to, shall we say, smuggle.

 

I doubt the employees even care. It really dosen't hurt anyone to share.

[Jesska0429]

You people have GOT to be kidding! Shampoo bottles? Listerine bottles? WHAT!! Is it THAT important to you to feel like you are getting over on the cruise line? It's not as if you are going to be on the ship the rest of your life!

 

You want a drink in your cabin, on the balcony....? How about stopping by one of the many bars and picking them up and carrying them to your cabin. On some ships, you can order from room service. You have just spent quite a bit of money to vacation on a wonderful ship and have a great vacation and you are worried about your shipboard bar bill?

 

All of the cruise lines have an alcohol policy...if you choose to ignore it and get caught, do the rest of us a favor; don't whine, complain, become obnoxious, rant nor hold up the line for the rest of us who follow the rules.

 

And an 18 year old worried about a shaker? Come on people. Grow up!

wow. I don't need a lecture, mom, And i'm sure these other fine people reading this don't either. I'm sure you were probably looking for the snoody snob thread anyway.

[Jesska0429]

You people have GOT to be kidding! Shampoo bottles? Listerine bottles? WHAT!! Is it THAT important to you to feel like you are getting over on the cruise line? It's not as if you are going to be on the ship the rest of your life!

 

You want a drink in your cabin, on the balcony....? How about stopping by one of the many bars and picking them up and carrying them to your cabin. On some ships, you can order from room service. You have just spent quite a bit of money to vacation on a wonderful ship and have a great vacation and you are worried about your shipboard bar bill?

 

All of the cruise lines have an alcohol policy...if you choose to ignore it and get caught, do the rest of us a favor; don't whine, complain, become obnoxious, rant nor hold up the line for the rest of us who follow the rules.

 

And an 18 year old worried about a shaker? Come on people. Grow up!

wow. I don't need a lecture, mom, And i'm sure these other fine people reading this don't either. I'm sure you were probably looking for the snoody snob thread anyway.

[Donna - dsw]

They now have the large zip lock clothes bags. Saw them at WalMart - 5 for $5.49. I plan on purchasing them and putting our clothes in them. Then I am wrapping the booze in bubble wrap and putting it in 2 gal zip lock bagges. We plan on taking a couple bottles with us.

[monn_a]

Not to burst any bubbles or be condesending, if you're under age and get caught with liquor they can put you off the ship at the next port (depending on the Staff Captain) and they will call the local authorities, sometimes you can finish the cruise and they will call the authorities at the home port (I've seen it). They can and will confiscate the alcohol, some ships return it at the end others pour it out (or keep it for themselves). My thought is I'm on vacation and spending money is part of being on vacation and besides the bar staff people make the majority of their money from the tips on the drinks. I know "who cares" but these guys/gals work hard and the cruiselines pay them next to nothing. I know that people do it and to each his own, just some food for thought. :)

[Booberry]

I plan to bring a bottle of Bourbon nestled secured in my clothing and I'll take all your thoughts, positive and negative under advisement. I hope no one has any trouble, but should they find and confiscate mine, then so be it. I'm not emotionally connected to the stuff, just want to stay in my room if I want to and sip some bourbon neat. My cruise is being paid for, but I will be responsible for my own extraneous expenses, so I will be trying to conserve funds somewhat. I'm an unemployed full time student, who was brutally attacked on my job a couple years ago...so after much counseling, lots of hard work and intense schooling to finish my degree within a year's time, this will be a time for me to relax and rejuvenate my spirit about life and people. I refuse to let anyone's thoughts about me or the cruise or what I do or how I do it matter. I think a drink or two in my room should I choose not to interact with anyone for the day will be nice. I write and need lots of down time from people so, no offense to the cruise lines, or movie theatres when I bring in an apple instead of eating their high sodium alternatives, just want to save a little money and enjoy myself in my own way. I will no doubt service the barkeep with tips when I'm in them. I've been on the other side of tipping so I do appreciate their importance and tip accordingly. Many good points and information that you all provided. Thanks.

[BewhichinU]

Hi All,

 

I have taken liquor on my cruises and never had it taken from my luggage. In the past I have put vodka in water bottles, cranberry juice in the blue propel bottles, put electrical tape around the caps, enclosed them in bubble wrap and as suggested put the bottles into gallon zip lock bags. It is just nice to get comfortable in your cabin and have a drink when you want. I am not saying that I don't buy the "drink of the day" or have "wine" with dinner. But, let's face it the drinks are quite expensive and why not spend that extra money on a shore excursion?:)

NCL Dawn 5/19/07

Star Princess 11/05

Carnival 9/04

RCL 5/02

Carnival 5/00

RCL 8/99

[Donna - dsw]

I would be happy to order from Princess and have it in my cabin when I arrive - but I called them as they don't specify what brand the booze is. Just vodka, gin, wiskey, etc. I called and they still didn't know.

 

We want Crown Royal, Jack Daniels, etc. So, we will take our own. Have done it in the past and will do it in the future.

 

Only had it taken one time - it was in my backpack. I forgot to put it in my luggage before we got to the ship.

 

We still buy drinks in the bar and lounge - just like to have it in our cabin without having to run out and get it.

 

This is one of those issues where everyone has their own opinion and I respect that.

[Mrtedhead]

I am leaving sunday for a NCL. The last cruise I went on was carnival and my bar bill was outrageous. I am a poor college student and this is spring break and I wish to enjoy as many miller lites as possible without paying 5.50 a beer.(which is a 1000% markup by the way)(greed) I have completed several internet searches on if its ok to bring beer on board. First off I know that its against NCL policy to allow passengers to freely bring alcohol on board. Originally my idea was to take an ice-chest and cram it to the very top with beer and tape it shut and let them bring it to my room. Since I realize now that this will most likely result in me getting my beer held up untill the last day of the cruise I am going to have to get crafty in order to beat thier security. So here is my plan: I am going to buy two 24 packs of diet coke and then pull a "switcheroo" by carefully opening the cardboard containers and removing the diet coke and replacing with miller lite and carefully glueing the cardboard back closed. These will be carted inside of either a spare suitcase or taped up with a large "sams choice" 48pack flat of bottled water. From what I have read so far all they will do is hold on to it untill the end of the cruise if they catch it. Out of 3000 people on board I am sure that quite a few people will be caught bringing alcohol on board, and most likely they will not throw anyone off of the ship for this because you might could argue that they would have to throw everyone off for this. So essentially there is no penalty at all for trying other than maybe looking like an idoit when they call you down there to claim you contraband.(which I have no problem with at all)

 

:D 48 beer for the price of less than 10 beer:D

 

i will report back in a week and let anyone who cares know if this worked or not.

 

Mr T.:cool:

[jdjaguar]

Whatever you do, don't do what we did our first time.

 

My wife bought the oversized listerine bottles and thoroughly cleaned them. We then poured in Captain Morgan and put them in our luggage.

 

When we opened our luggage in our room, the liquor was there, but when I mixed our drinks and took a sip...

 

listerine and coke is a taste I will not soon forget.

 

We had a good laugh and left the tainted contraband for the cabin steward.

 

On our next cruise I bought the plastic 750s and stashed them in the luggage. (I also always flip the baggage handlers a 20 when we are embarking..i think this helps immensely.)

 

good luck and don't feel guilty..we always rack up a ton of charges anyway..its just nice to mix a drink...step out onto the balcony and

 

chill.

[calicruiser25]

Just wondering what the deal is with this now. I snuck in two bottles on our last cruise, but I hear now they are scanning all baggage.

 

Anyone recently cruised and have any ideas?

 

Thanks in advance!!

[mandyjo8303]

I has sail twice with carnival. I have never had a problem. I had 4 bottles of differnt things in my luggage that I check they were in their orignal bottles I just put them in between my packed clothes and wraped a towel around them. It was fine. My cousin brought Captain Morgan in mouth wash bottles. NEVER do this. No matter how much you wash them out it is still very minty tasting. Unless you want a mojto stick with the original bottles. My brother once took a empy coke bottle. But come on, if you get check for bottles you really think they would not take that light brown colored coke too. But he let it sit right out so anyone could see. We had our bottles out in plain sight too. Nothing came of it. I mean the worst thing that can happen is that they take it away. So pack it and dont worrie about it. We are bring plenty this time around. We have 10 people 7 of us are going to bring atleast one bottle and we will have a little mini bar. They tell you they dont want you to bring stuff becuase they want to make money off of you. They still will I know we will buy drinks at the club and the bars but if we want to have a happy hour before going out we will.

[LuvBNatC]

I've brought liquor onto every cruise line you see listed in my signature, and never had it confiscated.

 

I buy a 5th of vodka in those plastic "traveler" bottles some brands have. I look for a plain bottle shape that most resembles shampoo.

 

Then I pack it in a large ziplok bag with several large toiletry items like sunscreen, bug spray, etc, so it looks on the x-ray like it's probably a shampoo/conditioner combo. (Which makes perfect sense since the airlines have gotten so snarky about carry-on liquids.)

 

I place the ziplok in the middle of my clothes in the checked suitcase so it's well insulated and hard to dig to.

 

I lock the suitcase before turning it over to the porters at the pier.

 

So far, no one has bothered to verify my packed "shampoo" by asking me to show it to them. They don't have the manpower, so I assume if they see a bottle that could be booze or something else, they let it pass through. You just have to create that doubt.

[RollTider]

This is only my third cruise, but we have taken liquor every time, never had a problem. We always spend plenty on bar drinks or drink of the day, i don't feel guilty or like i am "getting one over" on the cruise line. It is very nice to go to your room and fix a drink and relax pre-partying. Most of us would do that before going to any club on land anyway, so what.

[AlwaysReady2Go]

I know its been posted before but I buy a box of wine and pack it with my clothes. They are designed to be strong inside their protective box so I don't worry that it will somehow puncture. I enjoy having a glass of wine on my balcony and do not enjoy spending $30 a bottle for what I buy at home for $10. Cruise line says you can bring wine onboard but will charge a corking fee if its brought to the dining room - ummmm no cork with my box - thanks anyway. I would just love to see my waiters face if the first night of the cruise I brought my box of wine to them to hold for dinner each night - LOL - wouldn't that be a HOOT!

[senoraberg]

Seems like NCL is pretty strict on bringing alchohol on board. When we cruised on Windjammer, we filled up water bottles with vodka-- but of course that is a totally different type of cruise.

 

We are NOT cheapskates, but we'd like to have cocktails on our balcony. I mean after all-- it is our vacation, right?

 

We did purchase a bar set up for our cabin, but was wondering how strict NCL really is??

 

MY RESPONSE-Way to go!! We are frequent NCL cruisers, and I must say their liquor policy ALWAYS states-no liquor allowed from "outside" on board. BUT enforcement varies depending on where you are. We've NEVER had a problem bringing in wine in checked luggage. In the Caribbean and the Mexican Riviera, they were very strict about bringing on bottles from port. We tried the first time, and they were confiscated and given back at the end of the cruise. So we brought a colored 1qt water bottle, bought wine at each port and put it in there and never had another problem. In EUROPE, however, there was never a problem-we brought in 2-3 bottles at each port! Had to hide some and bring it home because there was too much to drink onboard! Be aware, we found the bottle prices onboard to be about TWICE what you would spend in a nice restaurant back home. I believe the least expensive red was $24! Granted, you buy 6 and they give you one free, but it's still expensive. We also bought a couple of glasses of wine onboard and just kept the glasses to refill with our own booty. Your room steward will also give you glasses to use. We're not cheap-our onboard account still was nearly $1000 by the end of the cruise. It sounds really cheap, but I also bring ziplocks on with me and order room service the night before a port. I bag up sandwiches and fruit so I don't have to stop and buy oncshore at shore prices. It's just enough to hold us so we don't have to stop to eat and can enjoy the sights longer. it works for me!

[mimamma]

okay, I am coming on the cruise with my daughter. What if I just put a couple of bottles of wine/champagne in the bottom of the stroller. Will I have to run the stroller through a security screening? Obviously since we have my young daughter with us we won't be bringing much on but I would love to have a drink or two after she goes to sleep at night. Any thoughts?