Bringing liquor on ship from ports of call.

[mrsz]

Has anyone heard of a new policy just implemented from princess that if you bring liquor on as a souvenir from a port that they will no longer hold it for you until the end of the cruise . I just got off Caribbean Princess and I know someone this happened to. Would not hold liquor until end of cruise and told them this policy started the week of Sept 28.

[Putterdude]

I suspect it varies from ship to ship and region to region. Last month in the eastern Mediterranean on the Ruby, there were no liquor searches or seizures in any port.

[Rosefloater]

Where did you see/hear this?

[whataboutport]

So what do they do if they don't hold it for you? You get the drink it right away?

[mrsz]

We were with a couple on Caribbean Princess and they were told that they could not bring the liquor on (they were not hiding it, it was boxed) the hotel director was called down and said they had to confiscate it and all they wanted princess to do was hold it until the end of the cruise and they refused. They had to go back to where they bought it which took one hour and return it because it was expensive liquor. We had a paper on embarkation that said if you bring liquor from a port they will hold it until the end of the cruise. When they told Princess that they said the new policy was just started on this cruise????????

[Putterdude]

Sorry that you lost your liquor but there is a thread on this topic that has been running for well over month now. The contract has been changed and your luggage tags state the new policy so if you do bring liquor aboard the ship you do run the risk of it being confiscated. This enforcement of this policy seems to vary from region and by ship.

[IECalCruiser]

Sorry that you lost your liquor but there is a thread on this topic that has been running for well over month now. The contract has been changed and your luggage tags state the new policy so if you do bring liquor aboard the ship you do run the risk of it being confiscated. This enforcement of this policy seems to vary from region and by ship.

I just checked the passage contract and it appears unchanged since last September. I can't copy and paste from my iPhone but the wording on destruction of alcohol applies to the embarkation port. It still states that alcohol must be surrendered at ports and will be held until the end of the cruise.

[mrsz]

That is what I said. The liquor was not hidden in luggage is was brought on in plain sight from a port in a box and the intent was for it to be held until the end of the cruise. This was always allowed. Now Princess is saying that you can no longer bring it on or it will be confiscated. Many people like to buy the local liquor that is not on the ship as a souvenir. This is no longer allowed, as was told on our cruise. No one was trying to hide or smuggle the liquor to be consumed on the ship. It was meant to be brought home. I cant believe this and no where on the Princess sight have I read the change in this policy. If anyone finds it I would love to see it.

[aquilegia]

Sorry that you lost your liquor but there is a thread on this topic that has been running for well over month now. The contract has been changed and your luggage tags state the new policy so if you do bring liquor aboard the ship you do run the risk of it being confiscated. This enforcement of this policy seems to vary from region and by ship.

 

Where is this thread, please? I don't recall any thread stating that liquor brought on board from ports of call will no longer be held in store till disembarkation. Most of us know by now about the new policy re liquor at embarkation. However, I haven't seen any policy relating to liquor brought for storage at ports of call.

[mrsz]

Where is this thread, please? I don't recall any thread stating that liquor brought on board from ports of call will no longer be held in store till disembarkation. Most of us know by now about the new policy re liquor at embarkation. However, I haven't seen any policy relating to liquor brought for storage at ports of call.

 

There is a thread on Princess site that states caught with liquor, but that is about people packing liquor in their luggage and sneaking it on board to drink on the ship. It is not about bring liquor from ports to be brought home. Some confusion with the policy!!!

[faymuiheng]

How dissapointing. On our last trip to Mexico, we did exactly what the OP did, and purchased Tequila. Was hoping to do so again on our next cruise.

 

Since it's not consistent throughout the fleet, I wonder who to talk to prior to arriving at the port?

[bagney]

I just checked the passage contract on the Cruise Personalizer for an upcoming December 2013 cruise and I have pasted one paragraph below dealing with alcohol policy - the last sentence addresses the issue of alcohol brought on at ports of call:

 

Passengers agree not to bring alcoholic beverages of any kind on board for consumption except one bottle of wine or champagne per person of drinking age (no larger than 750 ml) per voyage only in his/her carry-on luggage. A corkage fee of $15.00 U.S.D. per bottle (which is subject to change without notice) will be applied to wine and champagne brought aboard by You and consumed in the ship's public areas. Any wine(s) or champagne(s) supplied by the Carrier to You as a gift are not subject to a corkage fee. At embarkation, all luggage will be scanned for suspected alcohol in excess of the one bottle policy as provided herein. Your luggage will undergo a secondary inspection by a security team operating under CCTV (closed circuit surveillance) or in the event Your luggage is locked, You will be notified and are required to attend the secondary inspection where any alcohol found in violation of the one bottle policy will be removed and discarded. Carrier shall not be responsible for any loss, cost, disappointment or damage of any kind as a result of any alcoholic beverages removed in violation of the one bottle policy. You agree to surrender alcoholic beverages that are purchased duty free from the ship's gift shop, or at ports of call, to Carrier, which will be delivered to Your stateroom on the last night of the voyage.

[mrsz]

I just checked the passage contract on the Cruise Personalizer for an upcoming December 2013 cruise and I have pasted one paragraph below dealing with alcohol policy - the last sentence addresses the issue of alcohol brought on at ports of call:

 

Passengers agree not to bring alcoholic beverages of any kind on board for consumption except one bottle of wine or champagne per person of drinking age (no larger than 750 ml) per voyage only in his/her carry-on luggage. A corkage fee of $15.00 U.S.D. per bottle (which is subject to change without notice) will be applied to wine and champagne brought aboard by You and consumed in the ship's public areas. Any wine(s) or champagne(s) supplied by the Carrier to You as a gift are not subject to a corkage fee. At embarkation, all luggage will be scanned for suspected alcohol in excess of the one bottle policy as provided herein. Your luggage will undergo a secondary inspection by a security team operating under CCTV (closed circuit surveillance) or in the event Your luggage is locked, You will be notified and are required to attend the secondary inspection where any alcohol found in violation of the one bottle policy will be removed and discarded. Carrier shall not be responsible for any loss, cost, disappointment or damage of any kind as a result of any alcoholic beverages removed in violation of the one bottle policy. You agree to surrender alcoholic beverages that are purchased duty free from the ship's gift shop, or at ports of call, to Carrier, which will be delivered to Your stateroom on the last night of the voyage.

 

That is exactly what this couple wanted to do. "Have it delivered to stateroom" at the end of the cruise and they refused to do it and said NO LIQUOR BOUGHT IN PORT WILL BE HELD UNTIL THE END OF THE CRUISE. Stated THIS POLICY JUST WENT INTO EFFECT THIS WEEK(SEPT 28) They should post this either on their website or givee you an updated policy on embarkation. I felt bad for the couple who thought they can have it held for them ( as they had on previous princess cruises) and found out too late the policy has changed. I still dont see anything in writing about the change in policy. My word of advice is before you buy liquor in port to bring home ASK!!!!!!!!!!!

[skynight]

I just checked the passage contract on the Cruise Personalizer for an upcoming December 2013 cruise and I have pasted one paragraph below dealing with alcohol policy - the last sentence addresses the issue of alcohol brought on at ports of call:

 

You agree to surrender alcoholic beverages that are purchased duty free from the ship's gift shop, or at ports of call, to Carrier, which will be delivered to Your stateroom on the last night of the voyage.

 

 

I would comment, bring a copy of the passenger contract with you. Every cruise line I have been on has a similar policy for alcohol purchased to bring home.

[mrsz]

i would comment, bring a copy of the passenger contract with you. Every cruise line i have been on has a similar policy for alcohol purchased to bring home.

 

this couple also presented the passenger contract to hotel director and she said sorry policy just went into effect sailings starting sept 28, yet there is nothing stating that anwhere!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[dcrow72]

was it at the port of embarkation? Others are posting that there have been no issues with bringing it on and having it held at other ports; just embarkation.

[skynight]

this couple also presented the passenger contract to hotel director and she said sorry policy just went into effect sailings starting sept 28, yet there is nothing stating that anwhere!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Well the contract is the contract. They can not change your contract at their whim while you are on board. I would report this hotel director directly to Princess. I would say she is in trouble with her boss. Her actions just don't make any sense, and will certainly turn people away from Princess. These duty free shops make lots of money off of cruise line ships, and just a word from them regarding Princess would be very negative indeed. I would insist on an apology and some monetary compensation, even if it takes 6 months.

[redtogo]

Sorry that you lost your liquor but there is a thread on this topic that has been running for well over month now. The contract has been changed and your luggage tags state the new policy so if you do bring liquor aboard the ship you do run the risk of it being confiscated. This enforcement of this policy seems to vary from region and by ship.

 

I looked at my luggage tags. I don't have the statement which you referred to as being on my tags. Mine only has my name, date, cabin number, and ship name.

[mrsz]

Well the contract is the contract. They can not change your contract at their whim while you are on board. I would report this hotel director directly to Princess. I would say she is in trouble with her boss. Her actions just don't make any sense, and will certainly turn people away from Princess. These duty free shops make lots of money off of cruise line ships, and just a word from them regarding Princess would be very negative indeed. I would insist on an apology and some monetary compensation, even if it takes 6 months.[/quote

 

This was at a port of call in St John Canada. It was not embarkation. The couple we were with are extremely upset and will be reporting her to Princess and said they will find another cruise line to cruise with. He is a collector of liquor from other countries because the bottles do not say imported on it. Maybe she was having a bad day, but I dont know how she could make up this policy if it werent true. As I stated before they had to travel over an hour to return the liquor and wasted half of their port day doing so. I hope they get compensation from Princess.

[1025cruise]

I would highly doubt that they will get compensation from Princess.

[aquilegia]

As sknight says, a contract is a contract. I've recently printed luggage tags and there's certainly nothing about that 'new policy' on them. Even if there were, I wouldn't consider it relevant. Your contract conditions are those you sign up to when you book and pay for your cruise. The cruise line cannot unilaterally change contract conditions retrospectively.

 

It is a pity your friend did not stand her ground, but I can understand that some people are inhibited about making a public fuss, even when they are in the right. Unfortunately, it would not be the first time that a cruise line employee has misunderstood or misinterpreted a policy.

[whataboutport]

Is there anyone on that ship that actually SAW this happening? or so far it's just "what I heard"

[Putterdude]

A thumbnail of the new luggage tags borrowed from another thread:

 

Attached Thumbnails

[pablo222]

As sknight says, a contract is a contract. I've recently printed luggage tags and there's certainly nothing about that 'new policy' on them. Even if there were, I wouldn't consider it relevant. Your contract conditions are those you sign up to when you book and pay for your cruise. The cruise line cannot unilaterally change contract conditions retrospectively.

 

It is a pity your friend did not stand her ground, but I can understand that some people are inhibited about making a public fuss, even when they are in the right. Unfortunately, it would not be the first time that a cruise line employee has misunderstood or misinterpreted a policy.

 

This is the part of the passage contract you should be interested in:

 

"Carrier may without liability for refund, payment, compensation or credit, except as provided herein, disembark or refuse to embark You, confine You in a stateroom, quarantine You, restrain You, change Your accommodations or disembark You at any time if, in the sole opinion of Carrier, the Captain or any Doctor, You or any minor or other person in Your care during the Cruise are unfit for any reason for the Cruise, or Your presence might be detrimental to Your health, comfort or safety or that of any other person, or in the judgment of the Captain is advisable for any reason."

 

Once you start making a big enough scene during embarcation,

you affect the comfort of other passengers. So, if this is your

plan, be sure to have a mobile phone with you, so you can call

your attorney right from the pier as you watch the ship leave.

 

Regardless, as you know the rules in advance, if you don't like them,

why don't you just take your business somewhere else?

 

It doesn't seem to be that it would be a fun, relaxing vacation

to spend whipping out the cruise contract, and arguing your

way to what you want -- win or lose.

[chrysalis]

A thumbnail of the new luggage tags borrowed from another thread:

 

Attached Thumbnails

 

 

Just this minute printed out our luggage tag, and the policy is on the tag, and shown in your post.