Would you travel on a cruise ship that didn't serve alcohol?

[drsel]

To reply to the point--

I would definitely travel on a cruise sans alcohol--if the price was right, date was convenient and departure port near my home

Even if the only liquid available was plain drinking water!

[mnocket]

I'm a bit confused.... is there a demand for alcohol free cruising? Are there many people who care if someone else has a drink?

[navybankerteacher]

If it was free, I absolutely would do it. But if I’m paying, I’d rather be able to have a drink if I want one, even if I have to pay a bit more. Especially since I’m not driving anywhere.

 

Does it have to be really "free"? What if it cost just $75.00 for a ten day cruise to your favorite destination ?

[navybankerteacher]

I'm a bit confused.... is there a demand for alcohol free cruising? Are there many people who care if someone else has a drink?

 

Probably no demand whatsoever - just try to wrap your mind around a theoretical question --which simply boils down to whether having drinks is ESSENTIAL to your enjoying a cruise. Hopefully the question of whether others are drinking is not of interest to you.

[Got2Cruise]

Well I guess it depends if you consider cruising transportation or an “experience”. For most, drinks by the pool, entertainment, casino are all part of the cruising “ experience”.

[sail7seas]

I enjoy my glass of wine but would sail a ship that d oes not serve a lcohol.

[Velvetwater]

One would wonder that if the cruise passenger base would change a little...

 

for example:

 

Although I have seen a few muslims on cruises in Europe I know a few of my muslim friends from stricter families have said they wouldn't cruise because of the drink culture.

[mnocket]

Probably no demand whatsoever - just try to wrap your mind around a theoretical question --which simply boils down to whether having drinks is ESSENTIAL to your enjoying a cruise. Hopefully the question of whether others are drinking is not of interest to you.

I think most would agree that we expect our cruise experience to go well beyond the essentials. Put another way, what I see as essential to having an enjoyable cruise includes many items that are not in fact essential, but are luxuries well above and beyond the basic essentials.

 

I might be misreading you, but I sense a hint of the holier-than-tho "is alcohol essential to your having a good time?". Nope, but if I have a choice between a cruise that serves alcohol and one that does not - I'll choose the former.

Edited August 2, 2018 by mnocket

[pacruise804]

Probably no demand whatsoever - just try to wrap your mind around a theoretical question --which simply boils down to whether having drinks is ESSENTIAL to your enjoying a cruise. Hopefully the question of whether others are drinking is not of interest to you.

 

To me "would I cruise while abstaining from alcohol" is a different question than what you posed.

 

My husband and I enjoy moderate drinking with our cruises and I suspect that a cruise that didn't serve any alcohol would not typically be a cruise where we would chose to spend our vacation money.

 

We do have friends who are complete abstainers though and also cruise. They were part of a group cruise this year, but it didn't fit our plans to join them. Our hope is to join them sometime in the future, and out of respect for the group we will likely not drink at all on the cruise even though drinks will be served on the ship and depending on the line we would be permitted to carry on wine.

[chatdad]

Lack of alcohol would suit us just fine as we don't imbibe. I do find it quite entertaining the amount of attention, posts, excitement, generated on the boards around drink packages and how much one can consume while on a cruise. Almost to the point that it becomes the major reason some hit the high seas.

[sail7seas]

We have sailed HAL, Celebrity, MSC, Seabourn, etc. We have noticed some people like to drink a bit too much, but it doesn't bother us usually, and if they know they have to pay at the end usually they are more moderate. We ourselves like a drink of wine with dinner usually, although not always. Mind you we have avoided Carnival (Ahem)..I hope I haven't offended anyone .

However, I must say that Seabourn ships are lovely, more pricey. and they include all liquor and any drinks you want in the price. It was on Seabourn where I noticed people heading straight to the bar on embarkation and staying there. Every morning when I got up they were at their favourite bars, and stayed all day, and some all night until close! Some didn't even bother to go for meals, just had fast food brought to them where they sat. It was so sad. And it set a tone I was uncomfortable with.

 

 

Everyone enjoys their cruise, their way. Some at the bar and some checking often to see who is at the bar and for how long ........... As long as they are hurting no one, who cares how each enjoys themselves?

[navybankerteacher]

 

...

 

I might be misreading you, but I sense a hint of the holier-than-tho "is alcohol essential to your having a good time?". Nope, but if I have a choice between a cruise that serves alcohol and one that does not - I'll choose the former.

 

Please drop the “holier than thou” BS.

 

The question was simply whether people would ever cruise on a ship without alcohol. Anyone able to understand the question was able to answer - usually based upon “ifs”. If the price was right and the rest of the experience good: yes.

 

Given those variables, I believe that anyone who says “never” might be seen as having a bit of a dependency problem.

 

I am speaking as one who has wine every night with dinner, and the occasional other drink. I would not prefer a “dry” cruise - but if there were enough positives, I would surely consider it.

[rkacruiser]

To answer the OP's question: No, I wouldn't.

[pontac]

Or would a cruise be just as enjoyable if alcohol was not even an option?

 

We have wine with dinner at home and at restaurants. We wouldn't book any cruise or holiday where we couldn't.

[gooch47]

Must be some combination of under reporting by the losers and exaggerations by the winners.

 

Been there, done that, LOL.

 

My first inclination was to say I wouldn't mind if no alcohol was served, but then I remembered our Princess Elite bar setup and how much we enjoy having a drink on our balcony. That is about the only time I drink.

[LynnTTT]

I really think it's a "moot"point or question. No cruise line is going to dedicate an entire ship to non-drinking. Theyd loose so much money, I could conceive of having a booze free weeklong cruise once in a while, maybe booked by the AA national group.

I do know that virtually every cruise has a "Friends of Bill" meeting every day.

For me, we do drink a glass of wine or a beer with dinner and on a cruise we'll also have a cocktail before dinner and take a nice Kahlua and cream back to the cabin for a nightcap.

[Expat Cruise]

I came across this information about cruises and drinking which leads me to believe no major cruise line would go alcohol free. On the typical 7-day sailing, 62,000 drinks are consumed! Per passenger, that’s an average of 33 drinks per week, or 4.7 alcoholic drinks per day.

 

On a seven day Celebrity Constellation Cruise, 62,000 drinks were consumed that is a average of 33 drinks per week, or 4.7 alcoholic drinks per day per passenger. The average American consumes four drinks per week while not on vacation. That means on average guest drink eight times the normal average when on a cruise vacation.

 

So I believe a few things can be drawn from this.

 

* Alcohol is a major part of cruise vacations both for the guests and the cruise line. For the line it is a profit center maybe the biggest area of profit on cruises.

 

* Main Stream cruise lines would not go alcohol free.

 

* For the average guests dink packages are not worth the price charged for them.

 

Link to support these numbers

[drsel]

Nice work, Expat. So at an average of $9 per drink, they generated $560,000. (Even more with the drink packages)

How will they recover this on a cruise sans alcoholic beverages?

[buchhalm]

Would I? No.

Meat free cruise ( poking another hornet's nest here), HELL no!

 

I guess " alcohol free" cruises would be a lot more expensive. Ancillary charges make $$$$!!!

[Marian Paroo]

One would wonder that if the cruise passenger base would change a little...

 

 

 

for example:

 

 

 

Although I have seen a few muslims on cruises in Europe I know a few of my muslim friends from stricter families have said they wouldn't cruise because of the drink culture.

 

 

 

I wouldn’t, because it would be loaded with the kind of people from an anti-drink culture and I absolutely don’t mean Muslims

[sverigecruiser]

Does anyone know if alcoholfree cruises are available in parts of the world where many don't drink alcohol and can afford the much higher fare?

[drsel]

Does anyone know if alcoholfree cruises are available in parts of the world where many don't drink alcohol and can afford the much higher fare?

There are no alcohol free cruises. Transportation ships and ferries maybe.

[Marian Paroo]

There are no alcohol free cruises. Transportation ferries maybe.

 

 

 

My feeling is there just might be from the USA. Carry Nation is alive and well in some areas.

[drsel]

My feeling is there just might be from the USA. Carry Nation is alive and well in some areas.

Then they would be too expensive, without the revenue from alcoholic beverages

[pontac]

Does anyone know if alcoholfree cruises are available in parts of the world where many don't drink alcohol and can afford the much higher fare?

 

I have sympathy for and I understand why those who don't want to drink alcohol would prefer a cruise where the cost didn't include 'free' alcohol. Why should they subsidise other's boozing?

 

 

Some river cruise lines don't include drinks. Those who want can buy a drinks package or pay-as-they-go.