Alcohol

[smay136]

I know prior to boarding you can "purchase" a bottle of alcohol for the room while on board. However, I am wondering if you can purchase a bottle once on board for in room consumption, or if they hold all bottles purchased on board until the last day/

[kerryincork]

You can buy alcohol from duty free on board, but you collect the bottles on last day.

 

I think you can buy a bottle at the bar, but this at bar prices.

[jerrya72]

You can purchase a bottle from room service.  If you buy it from the fun shop they will hold it.

[5000]

"You can purchase a bottle from room service.  If you buy it from the fun shop they will hold it."

 

 

Exactly

[Schoifmom]

This is where Carnival's nomenclature is a little misleading.  Prior to your cruise, you can purchase a bottle for your room from the "Fun Shops" and consume it on board.  When on board, liquor purchased in the "Fun Shop" is duty-free and cannot be consumed on board.  You can, however, purchase a bottle from Room Service (at the same price as the pre-cruise Fun Shops purchases) for on-board consumption.

 

Confused yet??

Edited October 2, 2019 by Schoifmom

[robc1972]

Buy a rum runner and bring your own.

If you need more, nips in your pockets when getting back on the boat in ports.

[ranchette]

Can you bring wine onboard?

[sparks1093]

22 hours ago, robc1972 said:

Buy a rum runner and bring your own.

If you need more, nips in your pockets when getting back on the boat in ports.

Or just comply with the rules.

[sparks1093]

37 minutes ago, ranchette said:

Can you bring wine onboard?

One 750ml bottle per passenger over 21.

[Schoifmom]

17 hours ago, ranchette said:

Can you bring wine onboard?

 

16 hours ago, sparks1093 said:

One 750ml bottle per passenger over 21.

 

Carried on at the embarkation port only.

[elcuchio24]

We usually buy a bottle for the room from the funshops. Prices are either ok or extremely high based on what you drink. Still a great ROI per drink vs the bar though.

[amyj23]

So this is all very interesting.... My friend loves Bailey's for her Irish car bombs. She was interested in purchasing a bottle of Bailey's ahead of time but it's not on the Fun Shop menu. I'm also reading conflicting posts about whether they even have Bailey's on board. I just spent 10 minutes Googling for a menu of the liquor that can be purchased for Room Service and can find nothing. Does anyone have a current menu showing what liquor can be purchased in Room Service, please? Or am I misunderstanding how all this works. LOL. I drink beer so this is something I've never looked in to before!!!

[DryCreek]

I was going to preorder from the Fun Shops, then I read about the availability of ordering a liter through room service.  The updside to ordering via room service was no tax was charged at the time of sale, but the 15 or 18% gratuity was added.  I hear now that preordering through the Fun Shops also hits you with the delivery fee (gratuity) as well as the sales tax.

 

Have I got this figured out correctly?

[BalzacBill]

1 hour ago, amyj23 said:

So this is all very interesting.... My friend loves Bailey's for her Irish car bombs. She was interested in purchasing a bottle of Bailey's ahead of time but it's not on the Fun Shop menu. I'm also reading conflicting posts about whether they even have Bailey's on board. I just spent 10 minutes Googling for a menu of the liquor that can be purchased for Room Service and can find nothing. Does anyone have a current menu showing what liquor can be purchased in Room Service, please? Or am I misunderstanding how all this works. LOL. I drink beer so this is something I've never looked in to before!!!

 

We've been able to buy Baileys at most of the ship's bars in the past, but I don't know why they won't sell it thru the Fun Shop for your room. That's our vacation "nightcap".

[momof3cruisers]

2 hours ago, DryCreek said:

I was going to preorder from the Fun Shops, then I read about the availability of ordering a liter through room service.  The updside to ordering via room service was no tax was charged at the time of sale, but the 15 or 18% gratuity was added.  I hear now that preordering through the Fun Shops also hits you with the delivery fee (gratuity) as well as the sales tax.

 

Have I got this figured out correctly?

Yes you pay the delivery fee whenever you order it. (Complete rip-off IMO.) you don’t pay tax as long as you aren’t in a US port when you order on board.

[DryCreek]

20 hours ago, momof3cruisers said:

Yes you pay the delivery fee whenever you order it. (Complete rip-off IMO.) you don’t pay tax as long as you aren’t in a US port when you order on board.

Thanks!

I think that I may wait until after we set sail to order from room service.  As I hear, you're not free of the taxation thing until the next morning or so.

[BlerkOne]

2 hours ago, DryCreek said:

Thanks!

I think that I may wait until after we set sail to order from room service.  As I hear, you're not free of the taxation thing until the next morning or so.

 You can pre-order and select a delivery day to avoid any tax. You might even be able to avoid if you select deliver the first night. You can play around with ordering it and see what works for you before completing the purchase.

 

By having a delivery fee on pre-ordering, the cost is the same as if your ordered on the ship. It used to be possible to order from the Fun Shops once on the ship and have it delivered, avoiding the service charge room service added. Carnival figured out that is what some cheap people were doing.

[sparks1093]

7 hours ago, BlerkOne said:

 You can pre-order and select a delivery day to avoid any tax. You might even be able to avoid if you select deliver the first night. You can play around with ordering it and see what works for you before completing the purchase.

 

By having a delivery fee on pre-ordering, the cost is the same as if your ordered on the ship. It used to be possible to order from the Fun Shops once on the ship and have it delivered, avoiding the service charge room service added. Carnival figured out that is what some cheap people were doing.

We've ordered it for delivery the first night and have not paid tax. The bottle has always been in the cabin when we boarded.

[DryCreek]

5 hours ago, sparks1093 said:

We've ordered it for delivery the first night and have not paid tax. The bottle has always been in the cabin when we boarded.

Is this out of Galveston?

[sparks1093]

29 minutes ago, DryCreek said:

Is this out of Galveston?

Miami and Baltimore. As I understand it Texas liquor laws prevent the delivery on the day of departure (one of the reasons that I'm not in a hurry to sail out of Texas).

[pc_load_letter]

On 10/2/2019 at 1:20 PM, Schoifmom said:

This is where Carnival's nomenclature is a little misleading.  Prior to your cruise, you can purchase a bottle for your room from the "Fun Shops" and consume it on board.  When on board, liquor purchased in the "Fun Shop" is duty-free and cannot be consumed on board.  You can, however, purchase a bottle from Room Service (at the same price as the pre-cruise Fun Shops purchases) for on-board consumption.

 

Confused yet??

 

Actually that's very well explained. Thanks!

[DryCreek]

7 hours ago, sparks1093 said:

Miami and Baltimore. As I understand it Texas liquor laws prevent the delivery on the day of departure (one of the reasons that I'm not in a hurry to sail out of Texas).

And, to make it even better, they now tax you on your duty-free liquor purchases as you re-enter the US and declare your purchases.

We won't be bringing any back on our next cruise because of this new silliness.

[sparks1093]

3 minutes ago, DryCreek said:

And, to make it even better, they now tax you on your duty-free liquor purchases as you re-enter the US and declare your purchases.

We won't be bringing any back on our next cruise because of this new silliness.

I thought this was something that had been going on for a couple of years, but yes, this too is another reason why I'm not in a hurry to sail out of Texas (which is a pity because I do like what I've seen of Texas).

[DryCreek]

OK, just musing out loud here....

But, let's spose' I order the Fun Shop bottle and have it delivered to my room.  A liter is probably more than I will go through in a week.  I keep a 1.75 L mid-shelf bottle of bourbon at the house for mixing.  It typically lasts me anywhere from four to five weeks.  Well, it also depends if our son drops in for a visit, but just for me it will go five weeks, easily.

So, I don't consume all of that liter of Southern Comfort.  Will I be taxed on it at departure?

If so, is this an evil conspiracy to turn me into an alcoholic?

[sparks1093]

11 hours ago, DryCreek said:

OK, just musing out loud here....

But, let's spose' I order the Fun Shop bottle and have it delivered to my room.  A liter is probably more than I will go through in a week.  I keep a 1.75 L mid-shelf bottle of bourbon at the house for mixing.  It typically lasts me anywhere from four to five weeks.  Well, it also depends if our son drops in for a visit, but just for me it will go five weeks, easily.

So, I don't consume all of that liter of Southern Comfort.  Will I be taxed on it at departure?

If so, is this an evil conspiracy to turn me into an alcoholic?

If you weren't leaving the ship in Texas I'd say, no, you wouldn't be taxed on the remainder that you bring with you. Since you purchased it before the cruise I'm not sure you are required to even claim it (I know that I wouldn't). But you'll be leaving the ship in Texas and that makes it a whole new ball game.