Free Drinks

[anthonyrdrgz]

Some friends and I are taking a cruise, we want to know how drinks work. Someone told us drinks are free. Is that during meals only? I'm talking alcoholic drinks here, I read you can buy bottles and take them back to your room for a small fee. Any information would be helpfull.

[serene56]

Anthony- it would help if you told us what cruise lines.

You wont find drinking for free except a tthe captains party. No free drinks in the casino either. Some cruiselines allow you to buy a bottle in the store and you pay a price to take it with you.

 

My brother took an empty suitcase and stuck a case of beer in there. checked it with the porters at the pier. took a small cooler (one that holds 12 cans and had the steward keep it filled with ice) at the end of the cruise he had an empty suitcase to bring back soverniers.

[anthonyrdrgz]

It is with Royal Carribean International.

[serene56]

I am taking it for granted that you did not buy a cabin with concierge service.

 

On Royal you can buy a bottle to take it with you. You can also smuggle in stuff in your checked luggage only. If you attempt to carry it on it will be confiscated.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=83 here is the royal carribean board where you can find out more information

[98Charlie]

As serene said it will depend on the cruise line. Celebrity has a welcome aboard glass of champange or OJ. Other opportunities would be the champange art auction, captain's welcome party, special group parties pre-arrainged, sometimes CC parties on RCI or X.

 

Free beverages at all other times (including dinner) are pretty much limited to coffee, tea, water and maybe juice.

 

Yes, you can take some beverages aboard. Check the cruise line regulations. If it says "no" and you bring something and they decide to not allow it, it will be returned to you at the end of the cruise.

 

Charlie

[Happy ks]

First off, there is nothing free on a cruise, you have paid for it all in your fare and some things are included, such as coffee, milk, juice, iced tea and sometimes lemonade. Soft drinks are additional, even during meal times. They do sell a "soft drink card" which can be a money saver, depending on how much soda you consume.

 

All alcoholic beverages are charged to your seapass account, including an automatic 15% gratuity. RCI has in the past allowed you to purchase a bottle of duty free alcohol to consume in the privacy of your stateroom. They do add a service charge of $9.95, which brings the cost to around what you would pay for a bottle on land. You would have to check to see if they have this policy still in effect.

 

The price of mixed drinks will vary, you could go to the RCI board here to get an idea of what you need to budget for drinks. The prices are in line or less than what we pay around here for drinks in a restaurant, but that is a regional thing, some people think the drink prices a very high. I believe the cost of beer is fairly high, considering what you would pay for it at home, I don't drink beer, so I really don't know. The cost of a bottle of wine is typically 3-4 times the retail cost, pretty much the same as a nice land based restaurant would charge. You are allowed (? this may have recently changed) to bring onboard your own wine, they charge a corkage fee in the dining room. We have taken a few bottles on some cruises, more because we don't care for their selections.

 

I think you are served a drink or two at the Captains Welcome party, we usually don't attend, but I would also consider that to be inclusive of your cruise fare.

[Trevoli]

I have taken at least one bottle of champagne on each of my 15 cruises (Princess, RCI, Carnival, NCL), in my carry on, and have never had anything confiscated.

 

T

[Sigtau21]

I was on RCI's Majesty of the Seas in January and bought a bottle of Rum for $5 then paid $9 or $10 to take it back to my room. It was a great deal!