Alcohol Policy Poll

[nu2sea]

I am curious about the main reasons people are objecting to the new Celebrity policy.

 

You can give more than one answer, and if your reason does not appear, please post it.

 

Note that I am not asking if you will violate the policy, I am simply looking for your objections, if any, to it.

 

Thanks.

 

Susan

[tuggers]

I have stated my opinion on many ocassions. I have some favorite wines that are not carried on X's list. When you travel for many days, you like to have some of your favorite things. Just as some would bring a high quality soap or lotion to use, I would prefer to have a wine I know I'll enjoy. By paying the $15 corkage I am assuring X of a reasonable profit and a guatanteed tip for the wine steward. A win, win situation.

The prices on the X wine list are a markup over what you would pay at your neighborhood discount liquor store but in line with what you would pay at a restaurant serving the same quality of food we get on X.

It is not about money for 98% of the wine drinkers. It is about having a nice glass of wine with a meal. Take the Greg Norman (please, take it, I don't like it), it is listed for around $33. If I buy it here for $15 plus tax, and pay the $15 corkage, plus the wine stewards tip at the end of the cruise, it's a wash. We would not haul these bottles around to save a couple of bucks. IT IS about the prefered drink,

[tuggers]

Thanks, Susan for a great poll!

[Karynanne]

We prefer bringing our own wines onboard, due to our own specific tastes. Celebrity just hasn't had the broad range of choices that we enjoy.

 

It isn't about cost....but about choice. We're actually not fond of bringing a case of wine across country in our carry-on luggage (well, we used to!). But it did allow us to share with friends special wines of our choosing.

 

Hopefully Celebrity will reconsider this new policy....

 

Karyn

[thomasale]

I have brought Vodka on in the past but this is not a big deal to me...what the heck they have never offered my Cola and I just choke down the brand they force on you...same thing to me

[kb4683]

We have a bottle of wine with our dinner every night and the X winelist just does not cover our tastes; therefore, we prefer to bring what we know and like and pay the corkage fee.

 

During our recent Baltic cruise (we did not bring any wine on board) on three different evenings the wine we ordered was no longer on the wine list (supposedly they are in process of changing it) and we had to settle for something else!

[m steve]

I like to bring our favorite liquor for drinks in the cabin in the early evening or while departing a port. They usually don't stock my favorite rum. As for wines, we were recently in OZ and bought several cases of special new wines we wanted to try and had a bottle each night on board paying corkage and then had the balance in NZ. We might bring a few bottles on out Dec. cruise of special wines but usually buy the ship's selections. We also buy drinks at the various bars on board. It's both convenience and costs involved. Our wine and liquor usually is several $hundred.

Now for the Carrie Nations on this thread I really don't care what you think about consumption of alcohol.

[HELENROSE]

We enjoy a drink while dressing for dinner, we have tried ordering them and have them sent to the cabin. By the time it gets there, we are almost ready to leave. The time it takes you to order, you could have made them already.

Some say the cost of the drinks are the same as at home. Which is true, but we don't go out nightly drinking at home, so it can get expensive if you are on a long cruise. We still will purchase a drink or two in the evenings, so the cruise lines still get their money from us. We just would like one drink in our cabin. I don't think that is to much to ask for.

[crazybus]

We enjoy a glass of champagne in our cabin before dinner. If we couldn't take champagne onboard with us, then we would do without. It's not about smuggling booze onboard and sitting in our cabin getting stupid drunk. It's about relaxing and enjoying yourself. We still stop at the bar and have an afternoon cocktail at the pool and have cocktails in the clubs at night. And I guess the price of champagne onboard does come into play somewhat, lets face it. It is like a 150% markup or more. We are not cheating Celebrity out of anything because the 300 or 400 dollars we may save on bringing champagne onboard is spend elsewhere on the ship. I can also see Celebrity's point too because on past cruises I have seen people come into the clubs with bottles of liquor and making their on drinks in the clubs. Their were people one night in the show lounge drinking out of a flask, now that is just trashy!

[Wendy The Wanderer]

I'm curious. I've never cruised Celebrity, so don't know what their "new" alcohol policy is, but am I right that they've banned passengers bringing alcohol on board at all? If so, that lets me out permanently, I would *never* cruise on a cruise line with such a policy. It's demeaning and offensive. If I'm wrong, I'd like to know what the policy is.

[Sky Sweet]

I find it interesting that even though there is only one option, out of seven categories in this poll, for people who won't be affected by Celebrity's new liquor/wine policy, over 35 percent chose it.

[Blazerboy]

Conversely, I find it interesting that (at least as I post) there are 77% who are not happy with the policy for one of six reasons.

[lisiamc]

I'm not actually affected by Celebrity's new alcohol policy - I prefer to drink in the bars for the sociability, and I'm happy enough with their wine selections at dinner.

 

But I still don't like the new policy, simply because I don't like being told that I can't bring my own booze on board. Even though I can't be bothered to do so, I would still like that choice, you know? I don't like being over-regulated as though I'm some underage kid who can't make responsible decisions. That's the part that irks me. And the knowledge that they would like to force passengers to buy alcohol exclusively from Celebrity in order to raise profits.

 

So I'm skewing the statistics somewhat.:D Count me as one who is unaffected, but still not happy.

 

Lisa

[Spender Nui]

I enjoy a drink in my cabin while getting ready for dinner. After that we share a bottle of wine, from the wine list with dinner. If I want an occasional drink or beer during the cruise I buy it from one of the bars. Is this wrong?

[kb4683]

It has always been against policy to bring hard liquor on board -- not that most of us haven't done it at some time or another.

 

Wine was always accepted for consumption in the dining room only ;) where you paid the $15 corkage. Interesting to note that the corkage fee is still mentioned in the FAQ section of X's website along with the new alcohol policy -- hummmmm.

 

We ARE composing our letter to Dan Hanrahan as was suggested by Tuggers in the other "Poll" thread.

[nu2sea]

I'm not actually affected by Celebrity's new alcohol policy - I prefer to drink in the bars for the sociability, and I'm happy enough with their wine selections at dinner.

 

But I still don't like the new policy, simply because I don't like being told that I can't bring my own booze on board. Even though I can't be bothered to do so, I would still like that choice, you know? I don't like being over-regulated as though I'm some underage kid who can't make responsible decisions. That's the part that irks me. And the knowledge that they would like to force passengers to buy alcohol exclusively from Celebrity in order to raise profits.

 

So I'm skewing the statistics somewhat.:D Count me as one who is unaffected, but still not happy.

 

Lisa

 

Thanks Lisa. I hadn't really considered that one who was unaffected would still be unhappy, but I can see why you would be.

 

Susan

[Cruise Arizona]

I may have thrown the poll out of whack with my answer. I answered that I will be unaffected, but I also am unhappy with the policy.

 

One of the reasons I will be "Un-affected" is that if this is policy I might try to bring a bottle or two of wine on board, and might have it confiscated, but I won't be able to bring the gifts of wine from AZ that I had hoped to bring and share on my next cruise.

 

For the most part it is just easier to order of the Celebrity wine list and make due with thier selections. But the total prohibition is just rediculous. I was hoping to join some friends on a cruise next year and I have a 10 year old magnum of AZ wine that I was planning on bringing. Now it appears that I will be breaking the rules big time if I do this.

 

Its just such an unimaginative way to supposedly control the amount of alcohol that people consume. There is just no way to really control that.

Some people can be falling down after one or two drinks because of metabolism or interactions with medication. My husband weighs twice as much as me, so he can drink atleast twice as much as me...ect.

 

I have been working on a letter to Hanrahan, and keep re-editing because I want to get my point across in just the right way. I may try to finish it up and try to get it out in the mail on Tuesday. Maybe, I should send a bottle of AZ wine with the letter to get my point across??? Maybe Hanrahan doesn't drink wine and that may be the reason for this rediculous policy.

[usha]

For us, the less to haul around on vacation, the better.

Never have brought wines or booze with us for cruises, so the new policy is a non-issue for us.:)

[cirpi]

We prefer bringing our own wines onboard, due to our own specific tastes. Celebrity just hasn't had the broad range of choices that we enjoy.

 

It isn't about cost....but about choice. We're actually not fond of bringing a case of wine across country in our carry-on luggage (well, we used to!). But it did allow us to share with friends special wines of our choosing.

 

Hopefully Celebrity will reconsider this new policy....

 

Karyn

 

I have to be honest because for me it's about both selection and cost.

If Celebrity could provide me with a 1985 BV Georges Latour Private reserve even at 2.5 times the $25 I paid for it, I'd gladly buy. Celebrity would have to charge $200+ for a '77 Sassicaia such as the one I brought to the Millennium's Olympic restaurant on a previous cruise. It cost me $16. Even if I were to successfully smuggle a few of these long-cellared gems, I'd still buy most of my dinner wine from the ship's wine list.

[Sky Sweet]

Conversely, I find it interesting that (at least as I post) there are 77% who are not happy with the policy for one of six reasons.

 

Keep in mind that since this poll allows for multiple votes and has only one category for people who won't be affected, that is the only statistic than can be accepted at face value. To find the actual percentage of people who will be affected by this policy, you should subtract the percentage of people in the one category who aren't affected from 100%. That is a lot less than 77%!! Otherwise you are skewing the statistics by considering the same people more than once. That is one of the problems with a poll that allows for multiple votes, when some of the categories are redundant.

[nu2sea]

To clarify one more time. This poll is not about how many or what percentage of respondents like or don't like the alcohol policy.

 

The option for the unaffected ones is a courtesy. I am interested, as I have said before, in the opinions of those who are affected and who are unhappy about the new policy. I would like to know why most of these are unhappy.

 

For those of you who are pleased or unaffected by the new policy, I am happy for you. I hope you will understand that I am not trying to denigrate your postition or pass any judgement on either posititon, I am simply trying to get an idea of the main issues of dissatisfaction. Hence, the option of multiple choices.

 

Susan

[Ma Bell]

Obviously there are people who don't like the policy for a variety of reasons. There are also those who are unaffected. Do we need to take a poll to decide whose poll is valid. How silly. There are certainly enough people who don't like the policy to possibly affect the decision. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

[Blazerboy]

My apologies...I hadn't noted the "multiple" choice option. Yes, with 104 votes in total, it's more likely to be around 70%, and, yes, that is, indeed, less than 77%.

 

Andrew

[Sky Sweet]

Obviously there are people who don't like the policy for a variety of reasons. There are also those who are unaffected. Do we need to take a poll to decide whose poll is valid. How silly. There are certainly enough people who don't like the policy to possibly affect the decision. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

 

It would be a moot point to determine which poll is more valid because they are completely different kinds of polls. My poll is a feasibility study to ascertain if Celebrity's new wine/liquor policy will have a significant impact on its business. On the other hand, this poll is more of a commentary about the different reasons why some people are unhappy about it to substantiate their friend's formal complaint to Celebrity.

[Petoonya]

We like to do a Med cruise every year- and there is definitely something missing when you can't bring a bottle of Chianti on board from the vineyard you've just visited in Tuscany. I don't drink but husband does and it's always been a pleasure to buy a bottle or two of wine in various ports, and enjoy onboard.

 

Not that he still would not purchase wine in the dining room.....X makes the call tho. The rest of this is just wine.