Carnival Banning Bottled Drinks Being Brought On Board

[Freckle53]

With being able to buy the 12 packs so reasonably now, I think it's more than fair with the bonus of not having to lug a 12 pack or case of water around. Yeah, it's about double the price you can get it for on sale in stores if you buy a 24 pack, but cases of water are heavy and this translates into about 25 cents a bottle. At our local walmart they sell random bottles of water from the opened/damaged cases for 50 cents each.

 

I don't plan on bringing water on our NCL cruise because of what a pain it was last time during embarkation with Carnival as we have 2 young kids and our hands full as it is. If NCL followed the lead with pricing, even if they didn't ban carrying it on yourself, I'd gladly buy a 12 pack. Even $5 would be worth it. This pricing? Hell, no.

 

For all ships except Pride of America

Item # Description Price Savings

WBP6 6-pack (1-liter bottles) $22.95 23%

WBP12 12-pack (1-liter bottles) $39.95 33%

WBP18 18-pack (1-liter bottles) $49.95 44%

WBP24 24-pack (1-liter bottles) $59.95 50%

Note: 18% gratuities & service charge will be applied at time of purchase

[CruisinMaterial]

We got cheap old "Poland Springs" water in our NH grocery stores. 35 for $3.99 a lot of the time.

 

Still wouldn't lug it aboard. Ships water taste fine by me.

 

I like Poland Springs water. :p

 

I wonder what the name brand of the water will be. Since Carnival is contracted with Coca-Cola I wonder if it will be Dasani? :cool:

 

Mum is the word on the name brand they're using. If it's Geyser it'll be crap! :eek:

[CruisinMaterial]

I think it's great they are only charging $2.99 for a 12 pack of water. Saves us from having to lug it on the ship. Hope NCL follows.

 

And they still allow cans of soda so coke fans like myself will still be fine with that

 

Carnival did limit the amount of cans to a 12-pack though. You'd have to get some in every port if you're a heavy soda drinker. :cool:

[CruisinMaterial]

Are we still able to buy alcohol at a port of call and pick it up at end of cruise?

 

Yes. Wines and alcohols purchased in ports will be held. However, what you initially try to smuggle on will be confiscated. So for instance you have a bottle of Jack Daniels in your checked luggage. The ship and the crew now get to enjoy that if you put it in there on embarkation day and are called to whatever naughty room Carnival has.

 

If you buy it in a port or on the ship, they still stow in for you and return it the last night of the cruise. :)

[cliffd64]

I would suppose NCL is different than Carnival... the free UBP probably limits the amount of smuggling these days. Should be interesting to see who follows suit with Carnival.

[R<3M2012]

Yes. Wines and alcohols purchased in ports will be held. However, what you initially try to smuggle on will be confiscated. So for instance you have a bottle of Jack Daniels in your checked luggage. The ship and the crew now get to enjoy that if you put it in there on embarkation day and are called to whatever naughty room Carnival has.

 

If you buy it in a port or on the ship, they still stow in for you and return it the last night of the cruise. :)

 

 

Thank you. I never smuggled on board, however my last attempt to bring water on the port security guy opened EVERY bottle and smelled it. I was beyond annoyed because his nose touched the bottle. I thought the first bottle was a mistake, but after the 3rd bottle I spoke up and asked him not to have his nose touch where I'll be drinking from. This (fill in the blank) proceeded to ignore me and shake, open, sniff every bottle.

[legion3]

Carnival did limit the amount of cans to a 12-pack though. You'd have to get some in every port if you're a heavy soda drinker. :cool:

 

12 per guest.

 

In a cabin of 4 that's 48 soda's

 

A small quantity of non-alcoholic beverages (i.e., sparkling water, sodas, juice, and milk) packaged in cans or cartons may be brought onboard on embarkation day only in guests’ carry-on luggage. A small quantity is considered a maximum of 12 sealed, unopened cans/cartons of 12 ounces each or less per person.

[legion3]

Yes. Wines and alcohols purchased in ports will be held. However, what you initially try to smuggle on will be confiscated. So for instance you have a bottle of Jack Daniels in your checked luggage. The ship and the crew now get to enjoy that if you put it in there on embarkation day and are called to whatever naughty room Carnival has.

 

If you buy it in a port or on the ship, they still stow in for you and return it the last night of the cruise. :)

 

Of course you still have the bottle of wine per person/adult which requires no corkage fee unless you consume it in the MDR/Specialty/or bar. Open it in your cabin and use a wine glass and take it wherever.

 

NCL still hits you up with the corkage fee upon boarding, is this correct?

[LMaxwell]

Exactly, what's wrong with ship water ?

 

Remember, Evian is Naive spelled backwards:D:D

 

Ship water is fine really. It's not de-salinated salt water, it is a reverse osmosis process and it is very good water. All the ice comes from it and the ships food is made with it.

 

But we do use bottled water ($2.49 per 24 pack; whatever no-name is on sale) for making baby formula. I'd want to still be able to use that on a ship. I'd 100% pay Carnivals current rate for a case of water as it is pretty reasonable and a convenience.

[rungod]

Let's be perfectly honest - this is not about whether you can tolerate the ships water. The smuggling on alcohol on board had gotten out of control. Booze is also a big profit for any establishment selling it.

[fishin' musician]

I like Poland Springs water. :p

 

I wonder what the name brand of the water will be. Since Carnival is contracted with Coca-Cola I wonder if it will be Dasani? :cool:

 

Mum is the word on the name brand they're using. If it's Geyser it'll be crap! :eek:

 

Actually, Carnival is the innovator of a new revenue generator. They discovered the reverse osmosis machinery has been operating way under capacity, thus each ship has hired 6 full time crew members to do nothing but fill and cap bottles. In addition, they will be utilizing a slightly heavier paba-free plastic container that can be washed and refilled up to 200 times.

Edited June 10, 2015 by fishin' musician

[CruisinMaterial]

Thank you. I never smuggled on board' date=' however my last attempt to bring water on the port security guy opened EVERY bottle and smelled it. I was beyond annoyed because his nose touched the bottle. I thought the first bottle was a mistake, but after the 3rd bottle I spoke up and asked him not to have his nose touch where I'll be drinking from. This (fill in the blank) proceeded to ignore me and shake, open, sniff every bottle.[/quote']

 

Absolutely disgusting! I would have demanded to speak with his supervisor and filed a complaint with the cruise line for such behavior. The lady at the port in January took my case of water and shook all of them. She never opened any of them. After half way through she gave up. I'm not sure if the dogs they had around the corner were sniffing for anything more than drugs or for alcohol too but the case of water was screened by the dog too! :eek::D

[CruisinMaterial]

Let's be perfectly honest - this is not about whether you can tolerate the ships water. The smuggling on alcohol on board had gotten out of control. Booze is also a big profit for any establishment selling it.

 

The smuggling of booze has been going on forever. However, I think Carnival is tired of the image they're getting from it. While NCL keeps on trying to put them in a class above Carnival (even by charging higher than Carnival as on most itineraries Carnival is the cheapest), Carnival is still dogged with multiple issues of unruly passengers on their ships. People jumping overboard and doing stuff related to intoxication. If they're finally cracking down it's a good thing. I personally do not sail Carnival because their band image is all about partying and the one time I did sail on them it was like going with a bunch of drunken bafoons requiring security to be posted at and inside the nightclub on the ship. Really? What kind of clientele is that? I did not feel safe being out on the ship later on at night with the amount of security they had patrolling. Yes NCL has security out and about but not to the extent they did on Carnival or stationed at any one given place (with the exception of Spring Break they did have security posted at the Spinnakers entrance checking cruise cards to validate age).

 

I'm happy Carnival is trying to curtail the amount of rowdiness. It will be interesting to see if other cruise lines cite poor behavior by guests for this policy change. I don't believe NCL has issues with this and they're the second lowest priced cruise line in the US (on most routes).

 

Time will tell but the last time NCL cited something passengers on the ship were doing and created a policy change (ie the no to go food back to the rooms) - it backfired. :cool:

[CruisinMaterial]

Actually' date=' Carnival is the innovator of a new revenue generator. They discovered the reverse osmosis machinery has been operating way under capacity, thus each ship has hired 6 full time crew members to do nothing but fill and cap bottles. In addition, they will be utilizing a slightly heavier paba-free plastic container that can be washed and refilled up to 200 times.[/quote']

 

LOL!! It would be eco-friendly now wouldn't it? :rolleyes:;):D

[bruadhin]

The smuggling of booze has been going on forever. However, I think Carnival is tired of the image they're getting from it. While NCL keeps on trying to put them in a class above Carnival (even by charging higher than Carnival as on most itineraries Carnival is the cheapest), Carnival is still dogged with multiple issues of unruly passengers on their ships. People jumping overboard and doing stuff related to intoxication. If they're finally cracking down it's a good thing. I personally do not sail Carnival because their band image is all about partying and the one time I did sail on them it was like going with a bunch of drunken bafoons requiring security to be posted at and inside the nightclub on the ship. Really? What kind of clientele is that? I did not feel safe being out on the ship later on at night with the amount of security they had patrolling. Yes NCL has security out and about but not to the extent they did on Carnival or stationed at any one given place (with the exception of Spring Break they did have security posted at the Spinnakers entrance checking cruise cards to validate age).

 

I'm happy Carnival is trying to curtail the amount of rowdiness. It will be interesting to see if other cruise lines cite poor behavior by guests for this policy change. I don't believe NCL has issues with this and they're the second lowest priced cruise line in the US (on most routes).

 

Time will tell but the last time NCL cited something passengers on the ship were doing and created a policy change (ie the no to go food back to the rooms) - it backfired. :cool:

 

I always hear that, and on four cruises I never really saw any bad behavior. Granted, I didn't go to the nightclubs as it isn't my thing, but my wife had no comments about it the few times she visited. Now, we only did 7 day or longer cruises and that may have an impact. I understand the weekend cruises are still basically booze cruises.

 

My issue with Carnival wasn't the fellow passengers, but the corporation. They seem unwilling to listen to passengers and seem more than happy to constantly reduce the quality of the cruise. I would say they are holding a price point, but they aren't. They are trying to bring fares up even as they reduce the quality of the cruise.

[NLH Arizona]

The smuggling of booze has been going on forever. However, I think Carnival is tired of the image they're getting from it.

I don't think that is the reason at all. I think the reason is that they have finally figured out how much revenue they are losing from the passengers smuggling booze on the ships and are trying to find a way to stop it, so that they will garner that revenue.

[swedish weave]

The smuggling of booze has been going on forever. However, I think Carnival is tired of the image they're getting from it. While NCL keeps on trying to put them in a class above Carnival (even by charging higher than Carnival as on most itineraries Carnival is the cheapest), Carnival is still dogged with multiple issues of unruly passengers on their ships. People jumping overboard and doing stuff related to intoxication. If they're finally cracking down it's a good thing. I personally do not sail Carnival because their band image is all about partying and the one time I did sail on them it was like going with a bunch of drunken bafoons requiring security to be posted at and inside the nightclub on the ship. Really? What kind of clientele is that? I did not feel safe being out on the ship later on at night with the amount of security they had patrolling. Yes NCL has security out and about but not to the extent they did on Carnival or stationed at any one given place (with the exception of Spring Break they did have security posted at the Spinnakers entrance checking cruise cards to validate age).

 

I'm happy Carnival is trying to curtail the amount of rowdiness. It will be interesting to see if other cruise lines cite poor behavior by guests for this policy change. I don't believe NCL has issues with this and they're the second lowest priced cruise line in the US (on most routes).

 

Time will tell but the last time NCL cited something passengers on the ship were doing and created a policy change (ie the no to go food back to the rooms) - it backfired. :cool:

 

Are you forgetting about NCL giving the Ulitmate Beverage Package as a booking bonus???

 

That may produce more drunks than Carnival has from the smuggling. Also, I know of no cruise lines that limit the number of drinks you can purchase, so if one is inclined to get drunk, policies won't stop them.

[maywell]

I don't think that is the reason at all. I think the reason is that they have finally figured out how much revenue they are losing from the passengers smuggling booze on the ships and are trying to find a way to stop it, so that they will garner that revenue.

Personally, I think its both - image and revenue problem, both of which is just intertwined with each other in Carnival's case. I think they are trying to improve their image but can't if certain mentalities are still sailing on them, so the easiest way for Carnival to get rid of them is to limiting the amount of beverages one can carry, the type of bag it can be carried and type of container in comes in. Regarding profits - Carnival's drinks prices is similar to Royal and NCL but yet because of the image problem, people assume its too expensive and/or drinks are watered down. Its also doesn't help with the disguise rum smuggling; that people try to drink it out in the open like on a sundeck and try to do mixed drink with Coke soda products instead of just buying alcoholic beverage from Carnival.

 

At some point, its going to be a matter of time when some other cruise line(s) are going to limit the type of luggage, wine and/or size of toiletries along with soda /water being brought on a ship. All because some people snuck in hard liquor to avoid buying it from the cruise line.

 

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[insidecabin]

THere will be a good chance the cheap £2.99 12*0.5ltr Carnival bottle water is just US tap water in bottles.

 

They do a 8*1.5lt bottle package as well for $20

 

Their other option is SanP if you like fizzy water 8*1ltr $26.

[bruadhin]

What do you think bottled water is? It is basically tap water. That is what Coke does with Dasani and Pepsi with Aquafina. They buy municipal water and filter it a few more times before bottling it.

 

For a cruise ship, the pricing is decent, for a land store it would be a complete rip off. As others have said, the question is how long do prices stay this low?

[geegee1]

Exactly, what's wrong with ship water ?

 

Remember, Evian is Naive spelled backwards:D:D

 

I prefer Poland Spring to ship water.

 

Thank you. I never smuggled on board' date=' however my last attempt to bring water on the port security guy opened EVERY bottle and smelled it. I was beyond annoyed because his nose touched the bottle. I thought the first bottle was a mistake, but after the 3rd bottle I spoke up and asked him not to have his nose touch where I'll be drinking from. This (fill in the blank) proceeded to ignore me and shake, open, sniff every bottle.[/quote']

 

Which port was that in? I've never experienced that in any of the ports I've been to. I also pack the bottles into my checked in luggage. But the bottles have not been opened when they get to my room. I would also gladly pay the $2.99 price for a 12 pack of 16oz bottles.

[insidecabin]

What do you think bottled water is? It is basically tap water. That is what Coke does with Dasani and Pepsi with Aquafina. They buy municipal water and filter it a few more times before bottling it.

 

For a cruise ship, the pricing is decent, for a land store it would be a complete rip off. As others have said, the question is how long do prices stay this low?

 

Not in europe/UK there is far more non tap water bottled available at reasonable prices.

[R<3M2012]

I prefer Poland Spring to ship water.

 

 

 

Which port was that in? I've never experienced that in any of the ports I've been to. I also pack the bottles into my checked in luggage. But the bottles have not been opened when they get to my room. I would also gladly pay the $2.99 price for a 12 pack of 16oz bottles.

 

Tampa!

[bruadhin]

Not in europe/UK there is far more non tap water bottled available at reasonable prices.

 

Having never been there, I'll take your word for it. As Carnival is line that predominately serves US ports and US passengers, it isn't going to be a shocker to most of their clientele to get what is effectively bottled tap water. A visit to the local grocery store will reveal almost an entire aisle filled with bottled water from various providers and most are just that, municipal water that was further filtered before being bottled.

 

On my most recent cruise with them, that is all I saw passengers carrying. National or store brand water, just the basics and nothing fancy. We personally have always been happy with the ship's water. We just used our free VFIP bottles when going ashore.

[CruisinMaterial]

Are you forgetting about NCL giving the Ulitmate Beverage Package as a booking bonus???

 

That may produce more drunks than Carnival has from the smuggling. Also, I know of no cruise lines that limit the number of drinks you can purchase, so if one is inclined to get drunk, policies won't stop them.

 

All cruise lines can stop serving a passenger, if it at the bartenders discretion, the person is visibly intoxicated and unable to function. I've seen it happen once on NCL and it was a spring break cruise, where a person was so intoxicated they had to be removed from the venue after they were shut off by the bartender and assistant bar manager there. They made a good call but the person was intoxicated and didn't take kindly to being shut off and so security was called (and they were at the door so it wasn't far for them to travel).

 

Maybe the clientele between the two cruise lines is different as to why there's more bad behavior on Carnival than NCL? However, keep in mind while you're saying UBP is included - it really isn't since the base fares have been inflated since these sales started. You're still paying for the amount they figure you're actually consuming. Even last minute fares for itineraries which usually reduced are still marked up by that price point.