Buying liquor for cabin, no longer allowed?

[ho]

Does anyone know if Princess has changed it's policy on purchasing liquor to take back to your cabin? On our past cruises there has been a couple of bars you could buy a bottle of liquor to take back, the price was always fair at about retail, not great like the duty free but still reasonable. I heard that Princess was no longer allowing this. The only thing you could order were the small pint bottles with the mix package. I am not sure why Princess would do this, they are still making a big mark up by selling at retail. I had never carried a bottle on board because I knew I could buy from Princess but now I guess I may have to start.:( Has anyone had any recent experience?

 

Thanks for the info.

[jbrambach]

It is true, for about a year now they no longer sell liters only the mixer packages. Sad

[ho]

Thanks JB,

 

That is what I was afraid of. We last sailed on the Island in May of last year and you could still buy a bottle then. I guess, because we always come in a day before the cruise I can buy a bottle once we get in and pack it but it is a shame. I think they will find the practice will cost instead of help their bottom line.

 

Thanks

[luvrotties]

So we are allowed to pack alcohol in our suitcase and bring it on board ? Will be we able to buy mixers on board ? Newbie to Princess and not quite sure of the rules !!

[jbrambach]

If you do pack it, please make sure you wrap it well or you will probably be spending the first half of your vacation in the laundry room.

 

I bought these kind of plastic containers online. They are called Rum Runner Flasks and they have worked great so far. If you google the name you should be able to find it.

[jbrambach]

So we are allowed to pack alcohol in our suitcase and bring it on board ? Will be we able to buy mixers on board ? Newbie to Princess and not quite sure of the rules !!

You are not "allowed" to pack it, but with the new rules some of us have resorted to this. Believe me I would much rather buy a liter bottle for my stateroom rather than smuggle it but not much of an option anymore. I would buy the mixer package but the brands they have are not what we prefer.

[dforeigner]

So we are allowed to pack alcohol in our suitcase and bring it on board ? Will be we able to buy mixers on board ? Newbie to Princess and not quite sure of the rules !!

 

Allowed, no. Princess sell smaller 350 ml bottles but for example for Scotch all they sell is J&B, for vodka you only get Smirnoff. This is why some are resorting to sneaking bottles in their luggage. At leas that's what I have heard.

[LMHSRN]

You are correct. you can no longer go to a bar and purchase a bottle and take it back to your room. HOWEVER!!!! you can call Princess and pre-order (and pre-pay) and it will be waiting for you in your cabin. It is not on the listing but if you call, they will provide this service.

 

We did this on the Coral Princess - Panama Canal Cruise.....

We boarded and we had a liter of Baracdi Rum and a liter of Crown Royal on the desk in the cabin when we arrived.

 

Cheers!

[smoothdancer]

I was on the Golden in December and ordered liquor through room service. Here is the good:

 

Just a quick phone call and your liquor delivery is made very promptly. If you are ordering for a drink before dinner, or one on the bacony the size is perfect for a week.

 

The price is very good, and worth every penny of not having to deal with hiding liquor in your bags, risking a break or spill.

 

The Bad:

They do not sell preimum liquors, you can only order house quaility brands.

I am a vodka drinker and the Smirnoff just did not do it for me. If you are brand picky, you may not like this option.

 

This is an execellent idea that Princess has. The convenience is wonderful. I think more people than not are bringing liquor on board for the convenience, not the dollar savings. If they were to expand thier choice offering and advertise it a bit I would bet they would see in increase in revenue, would not hurt thier bar sales and have a lot of happy passangers too.

 

This would be an great write in on the comment cards... Wish I had done so when I was on the ship but I just did not think to do so.

[blackbird71]

I am a vodka drinker and the Smirnoff just did not do it for me. If you are brand picky, you may not like this option.

 

Drive by post....

 

SMIRNOFF, STOLICHNAYA, or ABSOLUT are the listed vodka from the Seabourn's pre-cruise info page that I can have my suite stocked with. :p Now I can order two bottles of booze for my 7 day cruise, LOL I do not order any. The Sky Bar is just too easy to get too.... :)

[grace5]

smoothdancer, what was the size of the bottles you got from room service the 350ml or the 1 L bottles?

[grace5]

smoothdancer, What were the size of the bottles - 350 ml or 1 L??????

[smoothdancer]

Not sure, but I do know that it was a pint, plus two quart sizes of tonic(my choice).

 

Yes, In July were in a owers suite on NCL and it came stocked with 3 bottles of our choice. Silly, I just felt like I had to make the choices when if fact we only opened one, and the one we did open was just to big for a 7 day... That is why I liked the pint size that Princess offers.... It is just right, if only it was Absolut!

[MattInFLL]

I think it's great that they offer a the 375 ml (which is half of a "fifth", not half of a liter, unfortunately) for those who just want a cocktail before dinner... but we always like to have a friend or two over, and use up the liter easily. It's completely silly and senseless to not offer the larger size. I hope LMHSRN is correct that you can pre-order it still... certainly will try.

[Toto2Kansas]

I think it's great that they offer a the 375 ml (which is half of a "fifth", not half of a liter, unfortunately) for those who just want a cocktail before dinner... but we always like to have a friend or two over, and use up the liter easily. It's completely silly and senseless to not offer the larger size. I hope LMHSRN is correct that you can pre-order it still... certainly will try.

 

Nope, you can't pre-order a liter or buy one on board anymore. Strictly the 375 ML bottles ONLY. Sorry!

[clandt]

Double post

[clandt]

We ALWAYS bought a liter of ABSOLUTE the minute we got on board for the week, shared with friends etc. We had planned to do this in 2 weeks I am so glad I saw this. My DH is on the phone with princess right now. The rep is telling him he can get it in minibar??? There aren't minibars on the Grand are there? I thought they were empty fridges.

Now she is saying you can buy it at the boutique and my DH is telling the CSR you can't take it back to your room if you buy it there -- they keep it until the end of your cruise.

We are getting no where fast.

She is saying you can't send a gift to yourself

[Toto2Kansas]

Princess and their untrained CSR are something else. NO, there are no mini bars in your cabin. And even if you are Elite Members, Absloute is not there, they do have two tiny bottles of Smirnoff but that is all the vodka in the Elite/Suite mini bar set up.

No, you can't buy it at the Boutique and take it back to your room and no you can not go to the bar and buy a liter.

 

Absolute is not available in the gift section of Princess, only 375 ML of Smirnoff are available to send to yourself.

 

Maybe it's time your DH talks to a supervisor as this CSR has no idea what they are talking about.

[DesertDaisy]

I have really enjoyed pre-ordering liquor, we usually travel with a group of 12 or more. We have enjoyed our pre-dinner drinks in someones cabin. I do hear you that are okay with the new rules. I am not, We have left many half used bottles in our room for our cabin steward to dispose of, or use. Our last two cruises we have driven to the ports, but we still pre-ordered. With the new airline rules, smuggling is not an option. Will I do it, yes, my biggest problem with the new rules is the package. Don't want it, and really resent having to buy something we don't us . My gut feeling is this will not change, so we must conform, not, we will smuggle. Can this be solved, yes, throw out the mixers, sell us the 3.5 liquor and we will happily pay, don't want a package!

[smoothdancer]

I hear you Daisy!... For us the bottle size works fine as it is usually just the 2 of us, but sure what about if you are traveling in a group or hosting a party.....

 

The shame is, if Princess offered a variety of sizes I would bet the people bringing liquor on board would dramatically drop and the problem would be solved for both the passengers and the crew having to check the bags. And I still think overall by doing this that it would not have a noticably effect on thier bar sales.

 

Oh well, what do I know!

[kokonut06]

You are correct. you can no longer go to a bar and purchase a bottle and take it back to your room. HOWEVER!!!! you can call Princess and pre-order (and pre-pay) and it will be waiting for you in your cabin. It is not on the listing but if you call, they will provide this service.

 

We did this on the Coral Princess - Panama Canal Cruise.....

We boarded and we had a liter of Baracdi Rum and a liter of Crown Royal on the desk in the cabin when we arrived.

 

Cheers!

 

How long ago did you do this, calling Princess and having it in your room when you boarded, the good stuff I mean? We just called last week and asked about ordering a bottle of Grey Goose and a few others and they told us no you could only buy the pkg they have available or take a drink back to your room. We too enjoy our preferred brands and yes, will probably have to resort to sneaking it on.. hate to do this though as we sure don't mind just paying for it and having it readily available to enjoy in our room/balcony.

[LMHSRN]

I just ordered a liter of Bacardi Rum and Crown Royal for our cabin. I ordered it three weeks ago. It has been paid for as it has been charged to my credit card already.

 

Perhaps you are talking to the wrong persons. I did not have any trouble ordering .......

[kokonut06]

We called again yesterday and asked to speak with a manager at Princess. The lady had us on the phone for a really long time trying to find out what the real deal was. She was reading menus and asking other people, etc.... We told her we had heard many conflicting stories about the liquor thing. She did say that you can order for your room but, there is a selected few brands and Grey Goose was not one of them. She said we would have to just order drinks and take them to our room. The Crown and Bacardi must be on that menu. We will figure something out not really going to worry about it. Thx anyway...

[ho]

I just spoke with some friends who were on the CB last week. They tried to order a litter of Grey Goose to their cabin and were told no Goose, they had to order the mini set up from room service including the mix. It looks like all of us who would like to order a bottle for the cabin are in the same boat:rolleyes: and most of us have decided to bring one on board with us if we can't order it on board. I guess in the end if this has an negative impact on bar revenue Princess will bring back the old policy if not, I for one will continue to bring my own bottle of scotch packed carefully in my bags.

 

It's been a long time since I cruised with anyone other then Princess,does anyone know what the policy is on the other lines?

[Colo Cruiser]

Drive by post....

 

SMIRNOFF, STOLICHNAYA, or ABSOLUT are the listed vodka from the Seabourn's pre-cruise info page that I can have my suite stocked with. :p Now I can order two bottles of booze for my 7 day cruise, LOL I do not order any. The Sky Bar is just too easy to get too.... :)

 

 

Seabourne???? :rolleyes: :confused: :eek: