Can you bring alcohol and soda onboard?

[Zbayette]

Is this permissible on the Pride of America going around Hawaii? We're going to be staying at a condo three days before the cruise and will most likely have our own cocktail setups with us. So will anyone give us a problem taking it onboard?

[CRUZIN TOM]

Yes, NCL x-rays luggage and if found will confiscate your liquor until the last night and give it back to you. There have been some instances where users have provided other means of hiding said liquor in other containers to appear as maybe water, shampoo, etc. :)

[electricron]

All bags, both check and carry on, are run through a x-ray scanner. Here's a photo of what modern x-ray scanners see.

 

 

It's not difficult to find either glass or plastci bottles.

[KeystoneCruiser]

There is no rule against bringing soda on board. That is allowed. People have been known to slap a luggage tag on a case and just send it through and it shows up at their door with the rest of the luggage.

 

Alcohol is against NCL's rules. (the same rules as on most cruise lines now.). Wine is allowed if you pay a $15 per bottle corkage fee. All other alcohol is confiscated and returned to you on the last day. There are all kinds of reports on here of people being caught and called to the "naughty room" on the first day and asked to open their luggage if NCL finds anything suspicous in it. (yes, some shampoo bottles have been thought to be alcohol and the person is just sent on their way with the luggage.)

 

 

It is much more honest to simply just follow the rules that are in place than to be a lowlife and try to sneak the stuff on board.

[Sparkylok6]

Why don't you just order a bar setup for your room? It doesn't cost that much more than if you purchased it. Not to mention the disappointment of having it taken away for the entire cruise and then you have NOTHING....

 

I think bar setups are done through the ships coordinator a couple of weeks before you sail. It should be in your room when you board.

[salty dingo]

On our last NCL cruise my folks did order a bar setup, and shared it with us... so we ended up smuggling a lot of the liquor back OFF the ship :D !

 

I say "smuggle" since we brought it on, and did not buy it in port, I did not feel it necessary to declare it on arrival.

[Zbayette]

Why don't you just order a bar setup for your room? It doesn't cost that much more than if you purchased it. Not to mention the disappointment of having it taken away for the entire cruise and then you have NOTHING....

 

I think bar setups are done through the ships coordinator a couple of weeks before you sail. It should be in your room when you board.

 

The thing is I will most likely have alcohol already with me because we're bringing it with us for the 3 days we'll be staying in the condo. I'm neither throwing it away nor guzzling it down just because NCL doesn't allow it. if they take it from me they can give it back to me when i leave, or on the last night.

 

The bar setups are a lot more expensive than I pay for liquor because the way we drink it we don't need name brands and really drink the cheapest brands we find. Also we manage to buy them on good sales. Someone mentioned spending $40 on Absolute; now no one mentioned bottle sizes but when i read i that to my husband, he commented that on the last cruise that we were allowed to buy it in the islands and actually bring it back to our room, it cost us $6.50 for the bottle. :D

 

Does anyone know if we can use our shipboard credit towards bar setups?

[Cruising89143]

I brought some water on board the Dawn from a port as I cannot stand Evian water and that was all I could find to drink. Had no problems with that at all.:)

[DearOldDad]

Water and soda are not a problem. Alcohol is.

[discjoker]

Why don't you just order a bar setup for your room? It doesn't cost that much more than if you purchased it. Not to mention the disappointment of having it taken away for the entire cruise and then you have NOTHING....

 

I think bar setups are done through the ships coordinator a couple of weeks before you sail. It should be in your room when you board.

 

No bar setups on the US flagged vessels.

[bmacri]

Why don't you just order a bar setup for your room? It doesn't cost that much more than if you purchased it. Not to mention the disappointment of having it taken away for the entire cruise and then you have NOTHING....

 

I think bar setups are done through the ships coordinator a couple of weeks before you sail. It should be in your room when you board.

 

It is expensive to order a bar set-up. $40 for a fifth of Absolute is correct. But, if you remember that in the duty-free store they will sell you 2 mags for $20 and they hold it for you until the last day.

 

My point is buy the $40 Absolute Bar set up. Buy duty free to take home.

If you average it all out, you are still far far ahead on cost.

 

It's all good.

Happy Sailing.

[karen&roy]

Is this permissible on the Pride of America going around Hawaii? We're going to be staying at a condo three days before the cruise and will most likely have our own cocktail setups with us. So will anyone give us a problem taking it onboard?

 

I have been on RCCL three times last year and brought mine with me always. We pour it into plastic coke bottles, put it in ziplocks and put it in our checked luggage. never had a problem. Ran out once and went into port (Puerto Rico), bought a bottle, poured it into an ice tea bottle and carried it on with me. The most they can do is take it away so go for it. Just put it in another bottle :D

[garycarla]

I have been on RCCL three times last year and brought mine with me always. ...:D

 

Except this is the NCL board, not RCCL.

[kaykels]

I don't feel even a little bit bad about "breaking the rules" when they are charging $10.50 for an average mixed drink with tip. That's insane!

[almtyrob]

Booze is a no no. It's their rules & their ship. You are their guests. Bring on wine & pay the corkage or get lucky & the corkage table may not be set-up (Spirit May 5,2007 cruise) & you will carry on your wine for no add'l charge. Each restaurant served it w/o add'l charge. I guess they assumed I already paid corkage. :D

[RSWBADGER]

No bar setups on the US flagged vessels.

 

Curious on how we had a Bar Setup in our AA Suite, on our Pride of Aloha cruise in March 2007. We had 3 bottles of liquor and mixers.

[almtyrob]

Bar set ups have been & continue to be available...what is he talking about?:confused:

[garycarla]

I don't feel even a little bit bad about "breaking the rules" when they are charging $10.50 for an average mixed drink with tip. That's insane!

 

Agree with you there. If the drinks were only a little over priced we could live with it, but the prices are closer to what a high end restaurant would charge. There are many that would not bother with the smuggling if the prices were a bit more reasonable.

 

It would be interesting to see what would happen if they did a cruise with "reasonable" prices and then compare what the end profits came to. More sales at lower price - would it come out about the same?

[Duff Man]

I don't feel even a little bit bad about "breaking the rules" when they are charging $10.50 for an average mixed drink with tip. That's insane!

Having come off the Jewel, I don't think an "average mixed drink" was $10.50. I suppose the price is relative to where you come from, but we found drink prices pretty reasonable compared to the large City we live in. Beer prices were definitely cheaper than they are in most bars and restaurants where we live. We had wine with every dinner, and most bottles were not marked up as much as we see in most restaraunts.

[discjoker]

Curious on how we had a Bar Setup in our AA Suite, on our Pride of Aloha cruise in March 2007. We had 3 bottles of liquor and mixers.

 

What I should have said is you are unable to pre-order Bar setups on the US Flagged vessels. The owners suite comes with these 3 complimentary bottles.

[discjoker]

Bar set ups have been & continue to be available...what is he talking about?:confused:

 

You are unable to pre-order bar setups for US flagged ships (no personal experience but from what I have read on CC this is true).

[Don Haynes]

When people complain about the prices for booze aboard a ship, remember folks you are talking about restaurant prices aboard a ship.

 

I would say any restaurant in America charges at least four times as much for any food item, and for drinks, than what you pay at any grocery store.

 

Why do so many have such a hard and difficult time with this? At least most of the cruise lines are giving you a huge break on food. Now you want free drinks too?

[beachchick]

You are unable to pre-order bar setups for US flagged ships (no personal experience but from what I have read on CC this is true).

 

We do have personal experience (PoH) and can confirm: No bar setups may be ordered for the US-flagged ships. And the Owner's Suites (and Garden Villa on PoH) do have a specific number of bottles of alcohol included with the suite itself; this is not ordering a bar setup, it's a perk of the suite.

 

beachchick

[discjoker]

We do have personal experience (PoH) and can confirm: No bar setups may be ordered for the US-flagged ships. And the Owner's Suites (and Garden Villa on PoH) do have a specific number of bottles of alcohol included with the suite itself; this is not ordering a bar setup, it's a perk of the suite.

 

beachchick

 

That's what I thought. Thanks.

[AussieKathy]

We sailed on the Pride of America in September last year. We poured our alcohol into a plastic drink bottle and put it in our check in luggage didn't have a problem. It's nice to come back to your room in the afternoon and have a drink while you get ready for dinner. I don't consider that being a "lowlife".

 

The security is very tight at all the ports and they check through your bags so you won't get any alcohol on board in the ports.

 

You can bring on as much soft drink (soda) and water as you like.