Bringing Booze on board from a port

[shiner6]

What are the rules concerning bringing back a bottle of Rum or a bottle of wine or beer from a port?  Do they store it for you and then return it when you disembark?

Thank you for your help if you have had personal experience with this in the past.  There is some conflicting advice out there and I would like to clarify if possible.

[Pstcrik]

2 minutes ago, shiner6 said:

What are the rules concerning bringing back a bottle of Rum or a bottle of wine or beer from a port?  Do they store it for you and then return it when you disembark?

Thank you for your help if you have had personal experience with this in the past.  There is some conflicting advice out there and I would like to clarify if possible.

They have stored for us but not recently although I have not heard of any one with problems.

[shiner6]

12 minutes ago, Pstcrik said:

They have stored for us but not recently although I have not heard of any one with problems.

Thank you Pstcrik, we have sailed many times, but have never brought any spirits back on board due to fear of confiscation.

[richla]

They usually just collect it and return it to you the night before debark. A couple times there wasn't anyone collecting it. We've never had an issue yet.

[voljeep]

Just now, shiner6 said:

Thank you Pstcrik, we have sailed many times, but have never brought any spirits back on board due to fear of confiscation.

you may be in line with a bottle that gets confiscated ... and a person 10 minutes behind you will soon be sipping on a highball from the liquor they bought in port.

[shiner6]

21 minutes ago, voljeep said:

you may be in line with a bottle that gets confiscated ... and a person 10 minutes behind you will soon be sipping on a highball from the liquor they bought in port.

Yeah, that is what I am afraid of. I do not want to violate any policies, I just wondered if there is a legitimate way to bring back spirits (not for consumption on the ship)

[disneyochem]

I have brought alcohol for gifts on board numerous times on port stops.  I always tell the security officer that I have alcohol.  Most of the time, I’m allowed to keep the alcohol with me.  Rarely (maybe one out of 10 times?), there is a person who takes the bottle(s) and gives me a receipt to pick it up on the last day of the cruise.  The room steward usually (without asking) brings it to our stateroom.  So, one doesn’t lose the alcohol, it’s just stored.

 

One tip I learned though is to take a picture of what you bought!  I had a receipt for my red wine but received an inferior bottle instead!  Spent a little time tracking down the correct bottle—thankful that I had a picture of the bottle!

Edited September 4, 2023 by disneyochem

[Steelers36]

1 hour ago, shiner6 said:

Thank you Patcrik, we have sailed many times, but have never brought any spirits back on board due to fear of confiscation.

Nothing to fear.

 

1 hour ago, voljeep said:

you may be in line with a bottle that gets confiscated ... and a person 10 minutes behind you will soon be sipping on a highball from the liquor they bought in port.

I wouldn't call turning over a bottle of liquor after re-boarding the ship confiscation because the guest gets it back.

 

43 minutes ago, shiner6 said:

Yeah, that is what I am afraid of. I do not want to violate any policies, I just wondered if there is a legitimate way to bring back spirits (not for consumption on the ship)

There is normally a liquor table just after going through security scan when re-boarding the ship.  Often the security officer will alert the crew member manning the desk.  To comply, you turn over the liquor bottle and they store it for you (free).  It is returned to your stateroom on the last night.  If no one is there, or no one notices, just take it to your cabin and keep it there.  Don't bring your own liquor out somewhere on the ship.  

 

If you bring back wine, you can take that to your room.  If the desk clerk is involved, likely nothing happens, but I suppose you could be assessed a corkage fee.  But that desk clerk will not know if you used your free bottle or not at original embarkation.  That said, if you take that bottle to dinner, your waiter may charge you a corkage fee if the bottle has not already been opened.  Normally, the liquor desk, if manned, for returning guests from port excursions doesn't care about wine.

 

We have brought back wine from a port stop, but never liquor.

[BnDcruisers]

Hi all, 

In regard to bringing back wine back on board we always ask the ships security officer, the one that is usually standing near the exit from the ship where they scan your medallion, if we can bring back wine and have NEVER been turned down. 
We always tell the crew member that is running the X-ray machine that we have 2 bottles of wine in our backpack.
FYI, we never take a bottle of wine to the dining room we just have a glass or two in our stateroom before we head to the dining room. 🍷🍷

We have never tried bringing back a bottle of hard stuff so I can’t comment on that process. 

[startedwithamouse]

We bring back wine and never had it taken away. 

[alanasgpa]

1 hour ago, startedwithamouse said:

We bring back wine and never had it taken away. 

Wine and liquor are different things

[startedwithamouse]

1 minute ago, alanasgpa said:

Wine and liquor are different things

That's why I didn't mention liquor or beer. 

 

The post inquired about wine, liquor and beer.

 

I commented about our experience with wine. 

[Thrak]

I got some Foursquare Rum in Barbados. It was in my small day pack and had to clearly show up on the scanner. Other people had bags that were obviously from the Mount Gay distillery. Security just said for anybody with liquor to stop at the table and turn it in. I just walked on past and took the bottle to my cabin and stuck it in my luggage to take home. We had no intention of drinking it on the ship. I once brought back a 6 pack of beer in Hawaii and nobody batted an eye. We've purchased wine onshore and nobody ever questioned bringing it aboard. It's always surprised me but it does seem that the embarkation port security check is far more stringent and less forgiving. We tend to purchase the package these days but my wife will likely want to purchase some wine in Australia and New Zealand. It will either be taken and stored or it won't. Even if one has the Plus fare it's still nice to have a decent bottle of wine in the cabin.

 

I'm surprised a certain poster hasn't replied to this thread with her method of bringing liquor onboard as she has posted a number of times that she always just "brings her own" rather than paying for a package.

[kywildcatfanone]

Just carry it on.  They might hold it, they might not.

[shiner6]

Thank you everyone. I have no intention of drinking it onboard. I was interested because we have a land tour after our cruise and I thought it would be nice to have it in our hotel room.

[MissP22]

We've brought back liquor in the past many times and never turned it in at the check in desk. Most times the check in area is crowded so we just walk up the stairs and no one will say a word.

We don't want to drink it but just prefer to place it in our car during the retunn to Ft Lauderdale during a B2B trip.

[warthog2608]

I brought a bottle of Dictador 20 year rum from Cartagena back onboard the Ruby Princess. It was taken by the person at the alcohol check in desk and I was given a receipt. That was the last time I saw that nice expensive bottle of rum. The last night of the cruise I got an apology card stating that my bottle had been misplaced. In lieu of the Colombian rum they gave me a bottle of some rot gut Australian rum that had an odor like the hotel room with the indoor pool. Misplaced eh?  I'm sure it went someplace, someplace I'd like to be.

Well, I learned my lesson. During a port call at Cozumel we took the ferry over to Playa Del Carmen to visit my favorite liquor store, La Europea. I bought a $180 dollar bottle of Havana Club 15 year rum. It seems I somehow completely forgot about checking in the bottle and just walked past the alcohol check in table. (Like the roach hotel, bottles check in but they don't check out) 

YMMV

[Torfamm]

The policy is that they will hold it for you and return it to you at the end of the cruise. There is usually an alcohol collection table right after you go through security when returning to the ship. A couple of times I've told them I have a bottle or two of wine and they have said not to worry about it.

[MrSchwump]

On 9/4/2023 at 6:54 PM, Thrak said:

I'm surprised a certain poster hasn't replied to this thread with her method of bringing liquor onboard as she has posted a number of times that she always just "brings her own" rather than paying for a package.

Whoever she is, she’s my hero. Fight the power! Stick it to The Man!

[jwattle]

1 hour ago, MrSchwump said:

Whoever she is, she’s my hero. Fight the power! Stick it to The Man!

Hint: post 16

[MissP22]

2 hours ago, warthog2608 said:

That was the last time I saw that nice expensive bottle of rum.

That's very unusual. They deal with hundreds of bottles & I haven't heard about many going missing.

Either way, it's safer in my cabin. 

[BamaVol]

Can I bring an open bottle of wine?  I bought one last night and didn’t drink but one glass.  Boarding in another 60 minutes.

[voljeep]

11 minutes ago, BamaVol said:

Can I bring an open bottle of wine?  I bought one last night and didn’t drink but one glass.  Boarding in another 60 minutes.

prolly no open containers - but you've got 60 minutes - what's the problem?

[Cauzneffct]

Anyone have recent experience with “declaring” liquor at the embarkation port?  In other words, if I buy something prior to the sailing to take home, and I let them know upon boarding, will they store it?  

[MissP22]

1 hour ago, BamaVol said:

Can I bring an open bottle of wine?  I bought one last night and didn’t drink but one glass.  Boarding in another 60 minutes.

They probably wouldn't notice that it's been opened.