Baggage inspection at Long Beach

[Need-a-vacation]

So are all checked bags put through an xray scanner like they do at airports? Is that done by the cruise line or the port security?

 

Any opinions on the general success rate of stashing liquor in the luggage at long beach? Do you think it makes much difference if it's in the original bottle or a rum runner? Are different cruise lines more aggressive about catching folks?

[Cruisin' Chick]

So are all checked bags put through an xray scanner like they do at airports? Is that done by the cruise line or the port security?

 

Any opinions on the general success rate of stashing liquor in the luggage at long beach? Do you think it makes much difference if it's in the original bottle or a rum runner? Are different cruise lines more aggressive about catching folks?

 

All luggage are scanned. It's standard, no matter the port, no matter the cruise line.

 

If there's a suspicious item in your bag, you'll be called in to open it. Any booze caught this way will be tossed. Cruise lines have different rules re wine and non-alcoholic beverages.

 

When going through security, all of your carry ons will be placed on a conveyor belt by you, just as if you're going through airport security. You won't have to remove your shoes, though.

[Langley Cruisers]

Additionally, rum runners are one of the most-discussed topics here on the boards. You could run a search on the Carnival board - that might be the best idea. :)

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[Need-a-vacation]

Additionally, rum runners are one of the most-discussed topics here on the boards. You could run a search on the Carnival board - that might be the best idea. :)

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Lol. I've noticed. I just haven't been around enough lately to notice any patterns. My mom prefers the original bottle when she tried it because it's usually fine and if they catch it, she gets it back at the end. But she's super frequent high grade on another line and maybe they are less aggressive about it ?

 

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[Langley Cruisers]

But she's super frequent high grade on another line and maybe they are less aggressive about it ?

 

Are you asking if a frequent, loyal cruiser is given a break for smuggling alcohol?

[Need-a-vacation]

Are you asking if a frequent, loyal cruiser is given a break for smuggling alcohol?

 

I don't know, but I think it's in the realm of possibility that they use some discretion for which passengers to overlook and which to call to the naughty room. It could be reasonable to ignore the small bottle of Bacardi in the bag of a 60-year-old that cruises your line 20-30 days a year compared to the occasional passenger with a gallon of rum runners for a 3 day cruise

 

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[SadieN]

Our experiences on 20 cruises out of Long Beach----

 

All bags get scanned.

 

Carryon--

The confiscated pile at Long Beach is sometimes AMAZING.

 

Sometimes our bottles get inspected, sometimes not.

 

It seems to depend greatly on who is manning the scanner, length of cruise, time of year and the mix of pax.

An early February 4day cruise gets less scrutiny than a three day summer or spring break cruise.

 

I would think that the same type of scrutiny is also going on in checked luggage.

 

I will say the easiest Carnival screening was when the Spirit used San Pedro as a one-off experience.

[Langley Cruisers]

I don't know, but I think it's in the realm of possibility that they use some discretion for which passengers to overlook and which to call to the naughty room. It could be reasonable to ignore the small bottle of Bacardi in the bag of a 60-year-old that cruises your line 20-30 days a year compared to the occasional passenger with a gallon of rum runners for a 3 day cruise

 

But how do they know this by looking at a suitcase? They don't. Sorry, but I think you might be grasping at straws. ;) Bottom line is, if alcohol is not permitted to be brought onboard, you are smuggling it on. It is your decision on how you want to do this. All baggage is screened at every port, Long Beach not excluded. As mentioned, if your Mom wants to smuggle, then that's her decision.

[Laurie S.]

Her bottle will get pulled. Use rumrunners.

[Need-a-vacation]

Her bottle will get pulled. Use rumrunners.

 

I actually wasn't asking for her - I was relating her experience. She doesn't cruise out of Long Beach at all and doesn't always try to bring anything, but when she does, it's a regular bottle and it usually makes it to her cabin. But since it is in the original sealed bottle, if it is taken she can go collect it at the end of her cruise rather than it being trashed.

 

I haven't asked, but I figured it was possible that the higher levels that get special baggage handling might have different baggage tags than others. I was just thinking aloud or hypothesizing that maybe different cruise lines are more aggressive about it than others or that they possibly use some discretion based on the cruise length, amount of alcohol, etc. I'm not in the baggage screening area - I have no idea what info they have available to them. But it doesn't seem impossible that they can pull up the info on who is booked in the cabin for that bag.

 

So I was trying to combine her experience with the experience of others that DO sail out of Long Beach to get an idea of why her bottles usually get ignored, but many on the boards are insistent that bottles would always get taken. Or maybe she's just been incredibly lucky and there's no logic to it at all.

 

SadieN -- the image of the booze pile is hilarious. I have to wonder if they really trash it all or if some of it gets re-homed at the end of the embarkation. ;)

[Laurie S.]

It's pure dumb luck to get a bottle through. They are scanning thousands of suitcases in a short period of time, and are not checking to see if it's a suite or not. And, they certainly don't know if you're a multiple-cruise passenger or a newbie. I had to go down to the security room on our February cruise out of Long Beach because my fiance had put our big dive knife in his suitcase (I had told him to put it in his carryon so we could hand it over). While there, I saw hundreds of bottles that had been pulled out of suitcases.