Ruby Princess - Galveston Questions

[Cruise4Jesus]

We depart on the Ruby Princess in just over a month and have a few questions for any have departed out of Galveston lately. 

Are they allowing you bring on bottles/cans of soda and water?

Is the MDR room open for embarkation day lunch, and if so which one and hours?

What floor has embarkation and debarkation been on?

Any must see shows or activities?

Thank you in advance for any information.

[princess76021]

Following

[IslaSarah]

I disembarked the Ruby today in Galveston. 

Water and soda: yes. The guy ahead of me ran two 12-packs of soda through the the security scanner and carried one in each hand as his carry-ons.

Embarkation lunch: Yes, I think it was the DiVinci restaurant but not 100% sure about this. They were open until 1:30 and I think continued seating people a bit later.

Disembarkation was on both 6 and 7, I think we came in on 7 too.

Shows/activities: These are relative. I'm a big fan of the "game shows" that they held in the Explorers Lounge at 8:30 each night. I wasn't enamored with the production shows, but your tastes may vary. One night there was a guest singer, Dana Monique, who was excellent!

[Cruise4Jesus]

9 hours ago, IslaSarah said:

I disembarked the Ruby today in Galveston. 

Water and soda: yes. The guy ahead of me ran two 12-packs of soda through the the security scanner and carried one in each hand as his carry-ons.

Embarkation lunch: Yes, I think it was the DiVinci restaurant but not 100% sure about this. They were open until 1:30 and I think continued seating people a bit later.

Disembarkation was on both 6 and 7, I think we came in on 7 too.

Shows/activities: These are relative. I'm a big fan of the "game shows" that they held in the Explorers Lounge at 8:30 each night. I wasn't enamored with the production shows, but your tastes may vary. One night there was a guest singer, Dana Monique, who was excellent!

Thank you for the information.

[arizonaperson]

22 hours ago, Cruise4Jesus said:

We depart on the Ruby Princess in just over a month and have a few questions for any have departed out of Galveston lately. 

Are they allowing you bring on bottles/cans of soda and water?

Is the MDR room open for embarkation day lunch, and if so which one and hours?

What floor has embarkation and debarkation been on?

Any must see shows or activities?

Thank you in advance for any information.

 You might want to check out this post. Live Ruby Princess DEC 18 – 29 Western Caribbean\Mexico .

author is ceilidh1

 She gives great information and she especially gives great information about Galveston about the ins and outs of pre-stay cruising ,in my opinion.

 If I knew how to attach a thread I would’ve ,sorry I don’t know how to do that. 

[Cruise4Jesus]

1 hour ago, arizonaperson said:

You might want to check out this post. Live Ruby Princess DEC 18 – 29 Western Caribbean\Mexico .

author is ceilidh1

 She gives great information and she especially gives great information about Galveston about the ins and outs of pre-stay cruising ,in my opinion.

 If I knew how to attach a thread I would’ve ,sorry I don’t know how to do that. 

Thank you I will look that up.

[shackpacker]

I know that drinks the first night used to be charged and the drink package did not click in until the first morning.  Is that still the case?

[eclue]

Once the ship reaches International waters  - about two hours after sailing- the drink package will engage. Because of the ridiculous Texas laws on liquor, only certain brands may be consumed before this and due to this, Princess gives an OBC around $25 to your account.

Hope this answers your question. We will be on the March 5th sailing and also were on the Dec 29th and Jan 29th sail.

[txjim09]

8 hours ago, shackpacker said:

I know that drinks the first night used to be charged and the drink package did not click in until the first morning.  Is that still the case?

That only lasted until we were out of territorial waters. Was able to enjoy wine with dinner as part of the package (This was on the NYE cruise)

[Bobbiegentry]

Soft drinks and water can only be brought on board in cans or paper containers. 

Plastic containers not allowed. 

[CC Rider 69]

15 hours ago, shackpacker said:

I know that drinks the first night used to be charged and the drink package did not click in until the first morning.  Is that still the case?

Just off the Ruby in mid-January. Our drink package started about 7pm on sail away day. The next day thing is with CCL out of Texas.

[NoelleC]

On 2/19/2023 at 2:30 PM, Cruise4Jesus said:

We depart on the Ruby Princess in just over a month and have a few questions for any have departed out of Galveston lately. 

Are they allowing you bring on bottles/cans of soda and water?

Is the MDR room open for embarkation day lunch, and if so which one and hours?

What floor has embarkation and debarkation been on?

Any must see shows or activities?

Thank you in advance for any information.

Are you cruising out on the 25th? 😊✝️

[Times Prince]

On 2/28/2023 at 5:22 AM, CC Rider 69 said:

Just off the Ruby in mid-January. Our drink package started about 7pm on sail away day. The next day thing is with CCL out of Texas.

Texas law outlaws unlimited drink packages, so ALL cruise lines out of Galveston are limited to charging drinks by the serving until the ship is in international waters.  Texas also requires that liquor served while still in Texas waters be purchased in Texas, so many of the brands available normally on the cruise are not available.  As mentioned above Princess offers a $25 OBC to people with drink packages for them to be able to purchase individual drinks per Texas law.

[caribill]

15 minutes ago, Times Prince said:

 Texas also requires that liquor served while still in Texas waters be purchased in Texas, so many of the brands available normally on the cruise are not available.

 

Only because Princess chooses not to purchase a supply any of those other brands from Texas distributors.

[caribill]

23 minutes ago, Times Prince said:

Texas law outlaws unlimited drink packages,

According to a spokesman for the TABC:

“State law and TABC rules prohibit any practice which could reasonably be interpreted to allow or encourage overconsumption of alcohol. This includes “all you can drink” packages or other promotions which allow unlimited alcohol for a buy-in price.

 

But the Princess package is not an "all you can drink" package since there is a limit of 15 alcohol beverages per day.

 

Thus I see no reason the Princess package could not be used the first day even though selection would be limited until out of Texas waters,.

[Times Prince]

On 3/4/2023 at 2:57 AM, caribill said:

According to a spokesman for the TABC:

“State law and TABC rules prohibit any practice which could reasonably be interpreted to allow or encourage overconsumption of alcohol. This includes “all you can drink” packages or other promotions which allow unlimited alcohol for a buy-in price.

 

But the Princess package is not an "all you can drink" package since there is a limit of 15 alcohol beverages per day.

 

Thus I see no reason the Princess package could not be used the first day even though selection would be limited until out of Texas waters,.

I agree it doesn't make a lot of sense.  It seems a clear case of government overreach.

[caribill]

1 minute ago, Times Prince said:

I agree it doesn't make a lot of sense.  It seems a clear case of government overreach.

 

The main restrictions come from Texas law saying any alcohol beverage sold in Texas (including on cruise ships in Texas waters) must have been sold to the retailer from a Texas based distributor.

 

Since Princess normally gets its alcohol beverages from outside of Texas, none of that supply can be sold while in Texas waters, Thus Princess is forced to purchase some supply from Texas distributors toi be served until leaving Texas waters. To minimize its costs, the variety of beverages it purchases this way is very limited.

 

The reason for this law is that the beverage distributors have a great influence with Texas lawmakers.

 

Normally thhe ship is out of Texas waters by dinner time and all brands on the ship can then be served.

 

We were on one cruise when the ship could not depart until about 10 the next morning and there were many very unhappy wine drinkers at dinner the first evening because of the very limited choices available.

 

And I read of one Princess cruise a few years ago that came into port before dinner the last evening due to approaching storms. So that last evening (including at dinner), alcohol choices were again very limited around the ship.

 

By the way, if you purchase any alcohol to take home while on the ship or at a port stop and are disembarking in Galveston, Texas wants to collect the Texas alcohol tax from you when you leave the ship. There will be a table after you collect your luggage and go through customs where you are supposed to stop and pay this tax. The tax is due even if you are going straight from the ship to the airport to leave Texas.

[roadster08]

A lot of you seem flummoxed by the Texas liquor laws. They are strict for a reason. 

 

We have a lot of guns. Guns and liquor don't mix. It's that simple. 

[Cruise4Jesus]

On 3/3/2023 at 9:26 AM, NoelleC said:

Are you cruising out on the 25th? 😊✝️

NoelleC, actually cruising on the 2nd.

 

[caribill]

On 3/5/2023 at 6:52 PM, roadster08 said:

A lot of you seem flummoxed by the Texas liquor laws. They are strict for a reason. 

 

We have a lot of guns. Guns and liquor don't mix. It's that simple. 

 

Not the reason.

 

Alcohol is easily available all over the place. Bars, grocery stores, liquor stores, restaurants.

 

But only from retailers who have purchased their supplies from Texas distributors.

 

That means cruise ships while in Texas waters can only sell alcohol purchased from Texas distributors. Applies to beer, wine, liquor.

 

Not sure how the law applies to alcohol service on airplanes flying over Texas.

[roadster08]

4 hours ago, caribill said:

 

Not the reason.

 

Alcohol is easily available all over the place. Bars, grocery stores, liquor stores, restaurants.

 

But only from retailers who have purchased their supplies from Texas distributors.

 

That means cruise ships while in Texas waters can only sell alcohol purchased from Texas distributors. Applies to beer, wine, liquor.

 

Not sure how the law applies to alcohol service on airplanes flying over Texas.

You're probably right, but my explanation is a lot funnier 😉

[OSUZorba]

On 3/4/2023 at 2:30 AM, Times Prince said:

Texas law outlaws unlimited drink packages, so ALL cruise lines out of Galveston are limited to charging drinks by the serving until the ship is in international waters.  Texas also requires that liquor served while still in Texas waters be purchased in Texas, so many of the brands available normally on the cruise are not available.  As mentioned above Princess offers a $25 OBC to people with drink packages for them to be able to purchase individual drinks per Texas law.

Somehow RCL gets around the unlimited drink package rules. Still limited to what you can get in Galveston, but it isn't that limited.

[RedIguana]

On 3/5/2023 at 6:18 PM, caribill said:

y the way, if you purchase any alcohol to take home while on the ship or at a port stop and are disembarking in Galveston, Texas wants to collect the Texas alcohol tax from you when you leave the ship. There will be a table after you collect your luggage and go through customs where you are supposed to stop and pay this tax. The tax is due even if you are going straight from the ship to the airport to leave Texas.

Very interesting. I can see where they could apply this to Texas residents, but do wonder about it applying to citizens of other states. Guess I will be crawling down a rabbit hole of Texas liquour laws for the next few hours:)

[caribill]

2 minutes ago, RedIguana said:

Very interesting. I can see where they could apply this to Texas residents, but do wonder about it applying to citizens of other states. Guess I will be crawling down a rabbit hole of Texas liquour laws for the next few hours:)

 

As I understand it, when you itemize purchases for US customs, no matter where you enter the country the amount of allowed alcohol of the state you live in applies (as well as Federal limits).

 

As far as Texas, or any other state that is a port of entry, you may live in another state but there is no guarantee that you will not be leaving the alcohol with friends/relatives before you leave the state.

 

Laws are not that different in other countries. If you disembark from a cruise in Singapore and the ship had stopped in Malaysia, then any alcohol you bring into the country is taxed, no matter where you purchased it. They strictly enforce it and I had to pay duty taxes on a single bottle of wine I had purchased in Spain. There would have been no tax if the ship had not been to Malaysia.

[RedIguana]

6 minutes ago, caribill said:

Laws are not that different in other countries. If you disembark from a cruise in Singapore and the ship had stopped in Malaysia, then any alcohol you bring into the country is taxed, no matter where you purchased it. They strictly enforce it and I had to pay duty taxes on a single bottle of wine I had purchased in Spain. There would have been no tax if the ship had not been to Malaysia.

This part is the equivalent of the US government imposing import taxes. 

9 minutes ago, caribill said:

As far as Texas, or any other state that is a port of entry, you may live in another state but there is no guarantee that you will not be leaving the alcohol with friends/relatives before you leave the state.

This part is not relevant. Declaration form is for personal use.  

12 minutes ago, caribill said:

As I understand it, when you itemize purchases for US customs, no matter where you enter the country the amount of allowed alcohol of the state you live in applies (as well as Federal limits).

This is the relevant part that I get to travel down a rabbit hole for. Typically import taxes have always been under the purview of the US gov. to the best of my knowledge. Apparently there might be some sort of import loophole for border states (points of entry?). It has obviously been around for almost ten years, so I am sure it passes legal muster somehow, but inquiring minds like mine want to know "how".